Some things I liked some I did not.

Really Surprised!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I like a good sentimental holiday movie, but this one dragged on and did not interest anyone in the room. The rest of the family asked why I recorded it. Characters were hollow and poorly developed. While many cast members were great actors, the material left them with little to work with and their acting talent was not evident from this film. Plot lines were forced and incomplete. It felt like they just ran out of time and ended things. What was the deal with the guy in the ER? Did his resolution get edited out? When the movie was finally done we were left with the feeling of "what just happened her?" Was the angel figure theme supposed to mean anything? Just confusing. Does this want to be Love Actually? It's not.With so many holiday movies to choose from, I'd recommend moving on to another one. Want a sappy holiday movie - try Remember the Night or Christmas in Connecticut.

Chazz Palminteri has been involved with some great dramas in his lifetime. It seems like just yesterday I watched/reviewed his film A Bronx Tale for the first time. Directed by Robert De Niro and based off Palminteri's stageplay of the same name, the drama followed the life of a young man named Cologero, who was taught honor and to utilize his potential in life. When he got older, he learned "nobody really cares" from Palminteri's Sonny, a slick and skillful mobster who monopolized his block in the Bronx.I saw the film, kind of loved it, wrote a four star review, hailed its thematic use of a moral compass and family values as a rarity, and cite it as one of my favorite dramas. Now I'm faced with Palminteri's directorial debut Noel, a yuletide anthology film, blanketed in snow, gift-wrapped in Christmas warmness, and given a bow of cloying festive sentiment to top it off. The film follows five lonely souls during the holidays, each one coming to terms with their lovelives when a special someone enters their lives.Here's where I'd explain each story, but really, why bother? I guess I'm stuck wondering what value and benefit Palminteri saw making Noel, a film that had such a miniscule effect on me it's almost hard to cordially illustrate my opinion on the film. Did Chazz Palminteri really want to make a film like this? Was he approached with the idea, check his bank account balance, and say, "this will have to do?" Would the man who has been involved with high-caliber dramas and beautifully entertaining films really want to make a cheap, frustratingly surface-level film about five lost souls during Christmastime? This is one of those films that subjects some pretty likable screen-presences to the contrived sentimental drivel of the screenplay. Those subjected to the screenplay's obligations are Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Penélope Cruz, Paul Walker, and Alan Arkin, all of whom are capable performers reduced to their bare-wits on how to make a redundant film bearable.There are two problems that always arise from anthology films, especially season ones. One of which is that everyone feels captivated by the gooey holiday spirit (think contemporary Gary Marshall films like New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day) making all their actions feel like cloyingly impulsive decisions. Second thing is often characters don't feel humanized enough and their conflicts only seem like mere, spur-of-the-moment circumstances that are unfortunate but nothing more.Noel is the prime example of an anthology film that feels artificial and caught up in the "tis the season" mentality of the holidays, along with housing caricatures instead of characters and mistaking false sentimentality for true emotional impact. After something like A Bronx Tale, this is the absolute last thing I'd expect from Chazz Palminteri, a man whose time should be spent on better films with a bigger, more significant impact.Starring: Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, Penélope Cruz, Paul Walker, and Alan Arkin. Directed by: Chazz Palminteri.

This is one of my favorites and a very underrated Christmas movie. Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, and other very distinguished actors do a great job.There are four interconnected stories. Sarandon is a divorcée in her forties dealing with a mother who has Alzheimer's. Another guy wants to relive the happiest Christmas of his life when he was 14 and spent the day in the hospital. A young policeman is unreasonably jealous of his beautiful fiancée which is destroying their relationship. A older man lives with the guilt that he has falsely accused his wife of being unfaithful.These stories are beautifully told. The music is nice too.Rent "Noel." You won't be disappointed.

I found this film, and I had obviously never heard of it before reading about it, that is because it is a low budget independent film, but it was because of a good cast of stars I decided to try it. Basically it is Christmas Eve in New York City, and we see unconnected lives of people living in the city as they try to cope with their problems, all as difficult to deal with, even with the happy day approaching. Lonely divorced publisher Rose Collins (Susan Sarandon) is caring for her mother in hospital as she is suffering from Alzheimers disease, no longer recognising or communicating with her own daughter. Nina Vasquez (Penélope Cruz) is engaged to be married to cop Mike Riley (Paul Walker) who is constantly suspicious of her activities, which causes friction between the loving couple. Lonely bartender Artie Venzuela (Alan Arkin) is stalking Mike, believing he is the reincarnation of his dead wife, but a trip to hospital proves he is not the only person to hear this claim. Jules Calvert (Marcus Thomas) has not experienced a happy Christmas since he was last in hospital, and to try and reenact the enjoyment he had in this time he breaks his arm to have the warm spirit experience where he last had it, in hospital. Former priest Charlie Boyd (Robin Williams, who is uncredited) is a constant visitor for Rose's mother, and when he finds her thinking of suicide he comforts her and suggests talking and trying to make it through the night, and of course the spend the night together, he find himself able to find his faith again. In the end Mike sees poor Artie pass away, but he does get back Nina, Jules I suppose finds some solace, and Rose, after watching Charlie pass away peacefully, does find connection with her mother. Also starring The Usual Suspects' Chazz Palminteri, also directing as Arizona and Sonny Marinelli as Dennis. The cast do relatively well both to bring your spirits up and down, but ultimately to make you feel sympathy, Sarandon is alright as the woman trying to find a miracle through the despair, Walker, Cruz and Arkin do what they do fine, and Williams gets his time as the nice man, this is obviously the sort of film you would expect to see as an alternative and more serious Christmas movie, but it doesn't really do everything to pull you in with whatever silly twists it throws in, it is a slightly tedious, but not a completely awful seasonal drama. Okay!