A Disappointing Continuation

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I didn't think I was going to like this sequel since I was so down on the first one, but I was pleasantly surprised.The story is quite original. It is still a bit preachy about faith and hope and trust, but the extremes of "Once Upon a Christmas" are toned down quite a bit.The acting is better, although it still isn't real good. I reckon most of that to the fact that this movie appears to be aimed more at children. That means that the bad guys play a little meaner and the good guys a little more sweet and pure.Kathy Ireland is undoubtedly a beautiful woman who can appear almost angelic, but she just tries to hard and it shows. Every line seems like she is trying too hard to sell what she is saying. The kids are good again. John Dye is better as the dad and boyfriend.Some of the humor comes through better because it is less exaggerated.Much of what I have found lacking is probably just what a kid audience needs, so I expect kids will enjoy far more than I did.

Model Kathy Ireland returns as Kristen Claus, the daughter of Santa Claus, is this sequel to Once Upon a Christmas, where she has to deal with her sister, Rudolfa, who is secretly selling pieces of the North Pole. She also wants to replace Santa's workshop with a casino.The corning acting continues in this movie, with Ireland and John Dye, who plays Bill Morgan, not giving any acting performances that blew me away. Mary Donnelly-Haskell as Rudolfa Claus couldn't pull off a very convincing or conniving villain. And, you get those two annoying kids again along for the ride.The plot of an actual villain though and Kristin Claus forgetting that she is the daughter of Santa were the only tidbits of intrigue in the movie. The rest of the movie contained happy-go-lucky stuff and unlikable characters. Overall, it's OK to overlook this movie as well.Grade D

I really enjoyed the first movie in this series, "Once Upon A Christmas". But this second helping should have been left on the toy shop floor.I expected the Kristen story line, it was set up at the end of the first movie when Santa (her father) told her she would remember the North Pole and who she was if she just tried hard enough.I have liked John Dye ever since "Touched By an Angel" and the story of the tension between he and "Kristen" about her not knowing who she is and he wanting to marry her was excellently done.As well as the "Rudolpha" character was written and acted, her storyline was too complicated, and went out of it's way to trash everything that is good about the Santa Claus story. I was insulted by the stupidity of Santa, the indifference of Mrs. Claus, and the simple corruptibility of the elves.In face, these things were SO obvious, that I can't help but think that the screenwriters deliberately pulled some kind of a "fast one" on the program department of Hallmark Chanel in order to make sure this abomination got placed into the line up with the other, most excellent and heartwarming Christmas films that Hallmark is know for.IF YOU LOVE CHISTMAS< DON'T WATCH TIS MOVIE! If you don't love Christmas, don't even waste your time, you will finish the movie wondering if you were clubbed over the head and had some of your brain taken away.

A sequel to the equally facile and stomach-turning "Once Upon A Christmas," "Twice Upon A Christmas" ranks with "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" and "Superman II" as one of those sequels that's preferable to the original - but it still isn't a world-beater. Fans of the still-lovely Kathy Ireland should seek it out, however, what with it being her last movie to date.One year on from the events of the previous movie, Kristin (Kathy) has settled into life with the Morgans apart from her inability to remember who she was before she got there (she gave up her life as Santa's daughter to live with the family, and thus has no memory of who she is), and Rodolfa - her sister, and the Christina to her Britney - is still seeking to wreck Christmas as she nearly did last time, by selling off the North Pole a piece at a time. Writer Steven H. Berman puts a bit more emphasis on her shenanigans this time, and the movie's all the better for it; the humour makes it easier to get through, and the acting and FX are less inept here, which also helps.But towards the end it gets sappy enough to have Michael Landon turning over in his grave, and Kathy's climactic speech to the world (don't ask) does remind you that an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award is not in her immediate future - and neither is "Thrice Upon A Christmas." Nonetheless, there are still worse seasonal TV movies around. (Like, say, "Once Upon A Christmas.") And the woman is still a dish.