Let me say categorically that Mrs. Shullivan and I had wonderful childhood memories of our own Christmas's past and so this film brought back feelings of our own family Christmas's that were very special. After reading some of the other negative reviews I can only ascertain that these scribes do not believe in the magic of Christmas, or maybe their own families are not very close so the film was not believable to them.As for those of you who are purest Christmas believers, who enjoy being surrounded by family at this magical time of year, and who have some level of faith in living a Christian life, then this film "Christmas Lodge" should be on your viewing list. The two lead characters names are Mary whose job is to find private funding for restoring historic buildings, and the country Christmas Lodge owner named Jack whose lodge is old and badly in need of extensive repairs. Christmas Lodge was built by Jacks' great grandparents more than 100 years ago and the Christmas lodge has hosted many families over the past two centuries including Mary's family and grandparents when she was a young child. Mary is played superbly by actress Erin Karpluk, who had a recurring role in the hit action/drama television series Rookie Blue. Jack's character is played by the seasoned actor Michael Shanks who has played versatile character roles in other films ranging from the biographical film Mr. Hockey the story of Gordie Howe, to the successful television drama series Saving Hope. Now Michael Shanks character is a widower and he has a cute pixie of an 11 year old daughter named Charlene, played with devilish charm by the youngster Michelle Creber. In walks Mary (Literally in the woods) in to their unsuspecting lives while Jack is slowly trying to restore Christmas Lodge to its past glory days with nothing more than spit and muscle and little capital funds to pay for the rebuild.Now Mary's own family is very busy in the renovation industry with her father and her two brothers working independently on various renovation projects trying to maintain a living. Mary's grandfather has been bed ridden for quite some time but his past memories of Christmas Lodge and the love and Christian upbringing that he has bestowed on his extended family made Mrs. Shullivan and I warm and emotional. Call us saps if you will, but Christmas Lodge is a story of caring for one another and believing in the goodwill of all mankind. Grandpa is played by John Innes and his bedside visits and long chats with his granddaughter Mary only wish that our own parents and grandparents were still alive. They are very sensitive and touching scenes and add great value to the movies theme....especially near the end of the film. The film has a romantic story line and the spirit of Christmas comes to a wonderful climatic ending with Mary's family at Christmas Lodge well worth waiting for as the film closes. So for those other reviewers who commented they could not watch the entire film I must surmise their past Christmas's were filled with stress and grief and this film is about hope and love. Michael Shanks and Erin Karpluk are wonderful in the lead roles. This is a family friendly Christmas film. I give it an 8 out of 10 rating, and suggest that if you are a lover of the Christmas spirit that you won't be disappointed with Christmas Lodge.

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.

My wife and I are suckers for a sappy Christmas movie in the classic Hallmark genre. You do not expect Al Pacino or Jack Nicholson type acting. In fact, if you look at the IMDb reviews of Christmas movies, they are almost always on average 2 to 3 stars above what one would rate a non-Christmas movie because people understand these are "feel good" movies designed to inspire Christmas spirit, not win academy awards (and that is why I gave this a "3" instead of a "1"). That being said, as one reviewer mentioned, this movie HAD NO Christmas SPIRIT. There was no Christmas music, no decorations, no snow--nothing remotely Christmasy until the final scene (unless you count the endless references to "Christmas Lodge." And the acting—even giving due consideration to the usual sub-par acting in Christmas movies—was very poor with the exception of Erin Karpluk and the little girl--both did a decent job working amidst a bunch of stiffs.Further, there was too much interjection of the Bible in the movie. I understand that Christmas has its origins in the birth of Christ, but frankly, it has become a secular holiday for many around the world. I typically do not mind and even enjoy some reference to Christ, but even Christmas movies that do that, avoid such overt, over-the-top references to the Bible this movie included. I almost felt as though I had attended a sermon by the end of the movie.Moreover, the single most important aspect of a romantic Christmas movie as this one tries to be—where lonely forlorn man or woman find the true love and the Christmas spirit—is good chemistry between the male and female leads. There was zero chemistry in this movie—nothing, nada, zip.I think the only reason anyone would give this movie above 5 stars (and "5" is generous) is a strong religious or sugary "G" rating bias—that is people who cringe when the realism in a movie moves a hair off dead center of the G rating scale. So if you have that bias, you'll have a chance of liking this movie—not much of a chance, mind you—but a chance. If you prefer real Christmas movies with all the attendant Christmas trimmings to get you in the spirit of the season, you will want to skip this movie—or watch it after you've watched all the others you can possibly rent or find streaming on the Internet.

I don't normally search for these sort of films; my wife loves them and for the entire month before Christmas, these are on TV in our home. However, this year, I did not see this one. I was searching thru Netflix and found it in my queue; apparently my wife had watched it so I figured I'd give it a go. It was about 1 am and the worst thing that could happen would be that I might fall asleep. I did not. I found this to be quite a charming and nice movie, though I felt "Grampa" played it a little too hammy. But all in all, I found the film to be quite enjoyable. I was also amazed at the full mention of God and Christ and found that to be a breath of badly needed air; Family values are great and this is one movie to enjoy. Yea, the title "Christmas Lodge" sort of connects it with Christmas. I wonder if this was ever based on a true story?