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Office Christmas Party (2016)
Office Christmas Party (2016)
2016 | Comedy
7
6.9 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Fun Holiday Film
A Branch Manager of a struggling tech company looks to throw the mother of all parties to help recruit a major client. He has to do it under the nose of his jerk sister who is the CEO of the company.

Acting: 10
Stellar cast all around, each of them bringing a different type of hilarity to the film. Kate McKinnon is my personal favorite, playing the role of Office Manager Mary Winetoss. Her against-the-grain role makes you cringe and laugh at the same time.

Jennifer Aniston plays Carol Vanstone, the CEO you love to hate. Aniston, typically an innocent good girl, is actually quite good at being bad. One scene in particular has her squaring up with a little girl in a lounge and it’s easily one of the best parts of the film.

Beginning: 7
Pretty plain lift-off as you are introduced to the majority of the players in the film. It’s not the greatest start, but it still has its moments. Ten minutes was enough to make me want to see more.

Characters: 10
Office Christmas Party would fall short without hilarious characters like Vanstone and Winetoss. They keep the narrative interesting and the party entertaining. There’s random cameos, a crazy black DJ, and a nutty pimp. This film has it all!

Cinematography/Visuals: 10

Conflict: 4
Easily one of the film’s weak spots. The film’s goal is to throw a huge party for a potential client and hope the CEO doesn’t find out. When you think about it, there’s not too much room for conflict here, at least not enough to raise concern. If you go into the film with that in mind, you’ll have a much better time.

Genre: 8

Memorability: 6
There are quite a few fun moments that ultimately save the film. They don’t hit you like machine gun fire, rather they are more sporadic hence the lower score. I did walk away with some good quotable lines that cracked me up (“Something’s happening in my diaper"!).

Pace: 5

Plot: 8

Resolution: 6

Overall: 74
As I’m sitting here watching Olivia Munn and Jason Bateman do their dance routine in giant snowman costumes, I can’t help but think that a few tweaks here and there could have really made this film a classic. I enjoyed Office Christmas Party and have no problem adding it to my holiday rotation. If you’re looking to expand out of the feel good, innocent Christmas films of the year, this definitely one to check out.
  
The Twelve Dice of Christmas
The Twelve Dice of Christmas
Gail Oust | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I adore a new book, and if it’s part of a series, that's great, as it means more books for me to read!

Welcome to Serenity Cove, a peaceful Southern community where the residents like to play dice, and when there is a dark mystery, play detective.

With Christmas fast approaching, Kate McCall and her retired friends get into the holiday spirit by agreeing to help the elderly Eula Mae Snow decorate her home, even when it means sorting through many of the older woman’s belongings. Intent on doing a good deed and uncovering a bright collection of seasonal decorations, Kate is stopped dead in her tracks when instead she discovers the skeleton of a man showing clear signs of foul play.

Many in Serenity Cove thought that Waylon Snow had run off and left town and his wife, Eula Mae, more than two decades earlier. But with the appearance of his skeleton and a whole host of clues pointing to Eula Mae as the murderer, Kate will have to put her sleuthing skills to work to figure out who could have committed the evil deed.

Kate and her retired friends, known as The Bunco Babes, are feeling festive and they are planning a cookie exchange and ugly sweater contest for their last dice game session of the season. As they plan their holidays, they decide to help their friend decorate her house for the annual charity Christmas Home Tour. The Bunco Babes get cracking, and in the process of hunting for the Christmas decorations, Kate discovers the skeleton in the root cellar. Kate now has a twenty-five-year-old mystery to contend with. Can she solve it?

This is my first novel by Gail Oust and I really enjoyed it. I love that it is an old mystery set in Christmastime. Although this is the fourth book in a mystery series, you do not need to have read the previous books in sequence to be able to follow the story properly.

I found many of the characters very funny and easy to relate to, particularly Kate herself, but also Eula Mae's granddaughter, Tammy Lynn and Bill Lewis, Kate's "significant other". Many of the other characters in the book were extremely amusing and unusual. Kate and the Town Sheriff, Sheriff Wiggins have history, Although he is not in Kate's fan club, can she use her powers of persuasion on him to allow the Bunco Babes into the house in time for it to be decorated for the Christmas Home Tour?
 
You’ll treasure this sweet Christmas mystery, as I did!

Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for a copy of this book.
  
Marcy shows up at the hospital ready to play elf for some sick children only to find that Santa, being played by her friend Captain Moe, is suspected of murdering a hospital administrator. Sure that the two detectives in charge of the case aren’t going to worry about finding another suspect since they have Moe, Marcy and friends decide to investigate on their own.

I was surprised to find out after I finished this book that it was #10 in the series. On the one hand, I should have guessed because the characters and their relationships with each other were all so well developed. I didn’t feel like I was missing a lot of background though, so I assumed it was a newer series. Whether you’ve been with this one from the beginning or are just jumping in now, you’ll want to catch this installment. Better Off Thread is the perfect cozy to get you in the mood for a little holiday music and some Christmas shopping!
  
White Christmas Pie
White Christmas Pie
Wanda E. Brunstetter | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
8
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This story is about Will Henderson and his troubled past. What happen to Will that he feels like he could not feel loved. Will he find answers about what happen to him. We also meet a young woman that is Amish. Will their be a romance between Karen and Will?

We also have a desperate father looking for his son. Who this father and is search for his son. Was ever happen that created Will feel abandonment. The couple that Will is living with seem to have decided to adopt him.

Karen is looking for answers but what kind of answers. When she starts looking it seems to have her run into Will Henderson life. What will Karen decide and Will Henderson decide to do? Will Henderson become Amish or will they not.

This sweet story is lovely and done well. Their seem that the White Christmas Pie recipe has a message and the key to this lovely mystery Will Henderson past. This recipe seem to help Karen as well. This is wonderful for the holiday season and how it ends.
  
Slay Ride
Slay Ride
Diane Vallere | 2019 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Why Is Kyle Missing Trends?
In the couple of weeks before Christmas, Samantha Kidd has taken a temporary job as a social media influencer. Her friend Kyle Trent helped her get the job and is acting as her mentor. But when he misses a planned morning photo shoot, Samantha begins to worry. As she starts to get contradictory information about her friend, she knows something is wrong. Can she figure out what really happened?

This holiday entry, billed as a novella, is shorter than a typical novel in the series, but fans will hardly notice. There are still plenty of twists and turns that lead Samantha and us to the logical climax. Okay, so it was a bit rushed, but everything is explained. The characters, new and returning, are great, and we see more growth in Samantha. Along with that, we get some shenanigans from Samantha and plenty of humor. If you haven’t found this light, fun series yet, you’ll definitely enjoy it. And if you are a fan who hasn’t read this entry yet, you are in for a treat.