What to Watch This Holiday: Anna and the Apocalypse, Feast of the Seven Fishes, Dad's Christmas Date, Die Hard, Jingle Jangle, Klaus, Charlie Brown, Mickey

We have a special Holiday-themed What to Watch with suggestions for streaming movies so you can stay in, stay warm, and avoid the cold.  Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!

Anna and the Apocalypse (Amazon and Hulu)
My go to Christmas movie!  Anna and the Apocalypse offers something refreshingly different from anything else out now, with the perfect combination of holiday cheer, catchy music, zombie action, funny characters, and high school drama.  And the soundtrack has become a holiday regular in my house!  For more information, check out the review!

A Christmas Feast / Feast of the Seven Fishes (Digital, Amazon Prime, Tubi)
This wonderful holiday movie involves family, drama, and a big feast at the end.  It is a great choice to scratch that family feasting itch if you are spending this holiday away from family. For more information, check out the review!

My Dad's Christmas Date (Digital)

My Dad's Christmas Date gives Barrett and Piven a chance to shine and brings an unconventional holiday story with great characters and plenty of emotion and heart.  For more information, check out the review!

Die Hard (HBO Max)

Some may debate whether or not this belongs on the list, but since it's our website we're including one of the best Christmas movies of all time, Die Hard.  Learn about the importance of perseverance, family, and trying to keep it a silent night with this holiday classic.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix)

There are few better ways to get into the Christmas spirit than with Jingle Jangle, a film that is getting rave reviews for its holiday spirit and uplifting message!

Klaus (Netflix)
A beautifully animated holiday movie with a funny and heartwarming story, Klaus is a new Netflix film but will likely be on people's holiday schedules for years to come. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Apple TV+)
The Christmas classic is now streamable on Apple TV+. The music is pretty much the soundtrack of our household's Christmas, and the story is silly and heartfelt.

Mickey Christmas Carol (Disney+)
Another holiday classic that you can rewatch every year.  It has a universal message and will bring some holiday cheer to young and old!

Interview: Hadar Cats for My Dad's Christmas Date, starring Jeremy Piven, Joely Richardson, Olivia-Mai Barrett

Hadar Cats Interview for My Dad's Christmas Date, a new holiday film also starring Jeremy Piven, Joely Richardson, and Olivia-Mai Barrett. We discuss the film, the quick filming schedule, how she got into character, and some fun scenes from the movie itself. We also learn what Jeremy Piven is like in real life (spoiler, he's funny and a good actor)! So give it a watch and if you haven't seen the film, the review is here along with more information about the release: http://www.watchorpass.com/2020/11/my-dads-christmas-date-review-piven-barrett-holiday-comedy.html In many ways, David (Piven) and Jules Evans (Barrett) relationship is no different from that of most fathers and sixteen-year-old daughters. He struggles to understand her, she refuses to communicate with him. He wants to be involved in her life, she wants her own space. In one important aspect, however, David and Jules are separated from the rest of society: the death of Jules' mum, and David's wife, in a car crash two years earlier. With both struggling to cope with the rigors of daily life in the wake of this devastating loss, Jules decides to take matters into her own hands. Creating profiles for David on multiple online dating platforms, Jules sets out to find her dad a partner and, for herself, someone with whom she can talk. The question is, in the search for a new mum, will Jules find her old dad? Starring Jeremy Piven, Olivia Mai Barrett, Hadar Cats, and Joely Richardson Directed By Mick Davis

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What to Watch This Weekend: Holiday Movies, Let Him Go, Post-Halloween Horror, Playing With Fire, Long Shot

For Some Irreverent Holiday Cheer - Cup of Cheer (Digital and Tubi)

Cup of Cheer's confident, irreverent style, beautiful camera work, and great music make this one holiday treat that you won't want to return for store credit.  For more information, check out our review!

For Some Emotional Holiday Cheer - My Dad's Christmas Date (Digital)

My Dad's Christmas Date gives Barrett and Piven a chance to shine and brings an unconventional holiday story with great characters and plenty of emotion and heart.  For more information, check out the review!

For Some Extra Holiday Cheer - Operation Christmas Drop (Netflix)

The film is doing well with audiences and provides your standard holiday rom com so you can get in the holiday mood now!

For A Family or Western Thriller - Let Him Go (Theaters)

Let Him Go has fantastic characters and a slow burning story, fueled by the natural chemistry between Costner and Lane, in this harrowing tale of family and fear.  For more information, check out our review!

For Some Post-Halloween Horror - The Dark and the Wicked (Theaters, Digital)

The Dark and the Wicked will keep you on edge with it's palatable sense of tension, dread-filled atmospheric horror, amazing gore and effects, and wonderfully nuanced characters in a terrible predicament.  For more information, check out our review!

For Some Historical Horror - Antebellum (Redbox)

Antebellum is an imaginative mind game that explores the sins of the past and present through strong performances, a mysterious story, and some fantastic, dread-inducing music.  For more information, check out our review!

For the Kids - Playing With Fire (Hulu)

Maybe you have a lot on your mind this weekend and want to distract the kids for a couple hours.  If that's the case, then this is the perfect movie.  It is surprisingly entertaining for adults and my kids absolutely loved it  For more information, check out our review!

For Election Junkies - The Long Shot (Cinemax)

Long Shot starts off ridiculously enough but as it develops, you get to see a lot of heart from Theron and Rogan in this humorous election romp.

My Dad's Christmas Date Review: Piven and Barrett Shine In This Holidate Surprise

Release date: November 6, 2020
Running time: 86 minutes
Starring Jeremy Piven, Olivia Mai Barrett, Hadar Cats, and Joely Richardson
Directed By Mick Davis
Written By Brian Marchetti, Jack Marchetti, Toby Torlesse

In many ways, David (Piven) and Jules Evans (Barrett) relationship is no different from that of most fathers and sixteen-year-old daughters. He struggles to understand her, she refuses to communicate with him. He wants to be involved in her life, she wants her own space. In one important aspect, however, David and Jules are separated from the rest of society: the death of Jules' mum, and David's wife, in a car crash two years earlier. With both struggling to cope with the rigors of daily life in the wake of this devastating loss, Jules decides to take matters into her own hands. Creating profiles for David on multiple online dating platforms, Jules sets out to find her dad a partner and, for herself, someone with whom she can talk. The question is, in the search for a new mum, will Jules find her old dad?

Now I expected this movie to be your typical Christmas movie with all the standard tropes, and in a lot of ways this is exactly that, but there is plenty to love about this film.  For one, the main characters are a lot of fun, with Piven playing an overworked but caring dad and Barrett playing a rebellious but generally good kid.  Barrett's character feels like someone trying to help out her father in an unconventional way.  She is a strong, independent young lady trying to get her footing in this world.  And although she doesn't have a lot of friends, she is helped along by her close friendship with Hadar Cats.  Cats plants the thought in her head for Barrett to secretly set her dad up with several dating apps.  And when the dates begin to happen, they are fun but not too over the top.  I actually wish the film would have gone crazier with the dates with some more out there entries, but overall there were enough of them in varied situations to give Piven's character more depth.  But what really sets this film apart is that it highlights Piven's emotional acting chops.  Most of us know him from his iconic role as Ari Gold in Entourage, but the character of David is a much more nuanced and emotional character.  He felt convincing as a dad who is struggling to manage work and family, while trying to be there for his daughter but not really knowing how.  And there are scenes of genuine emotion that showcase just how good of an actor Piven is.

And the relationship between David and Jules is one that I really enjoyed seeing on screen.  David treats his daughter as a mature kid, giving her freedom to do many of the things that she wants.  It is a loving and trusting relationship that more movies could do with highlighting between parent and child.  Seeing the two grow, fight, and learn more about each other really is the heart of this movie, leading to some emotional, heartfelt moments.  If there is a criticism with the movie, it is that the conclusion felt just too convenient and I feel like it wrapped up too quickly.  I would have loved to see a little more of this film before the credits rolled. 

My Dad's Christmas Date gives Barrett and Piven a chance to shine and brings an unconventional holiday story with great characters and plenty of emotion and heart.

Watch it.

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BONUS: Check out our interview with Hadar Cats, who plays Emma!