Enchanted Christmas (2017)/ Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

The two stories are different as night and day, but "enchanted" and "magic" have some commonality, don't they?

When she left Utah as a young widow, Laura Trudeau(Alexa PenaVega) left behind her father, her love of dance -- and an old heartbreak. Now, she must return home to spearhead the renovation of a derelict hotel, which must be restored in time for a Christmas Eve benefit dance performance. But Laura is shocked to learn that her old love, Ricardo Archuleta(Carlos PenaVega), the boy who jilted her for a professional dance career, is the star of the dance benefit. And when his dance partner Taylor walks out on the show for an out-of-town audition, Laura has to step in for her, reawakening her love of the dance, not to mention her old feelings for Ricardo -- a potent combination that has her head spinning.- imdb

Director: Terry Cunningham

Writers: Catherine Fridey and Rick Garman

THE MOVIE

The long and short of it: I really love this movie.  It may be predictable and far from perfect, but I really felt good watching this.  Real life husband and wife, CARLOS PENAVEGA and ALEXA PENAVEGA star in this Christmas love story.  Yes, the story is quite predictable as I've said earlier, but you would enjoy the Christmas program, most especially the grand finally.  The chemistry between Carlos and Alexa is undeniable.  The other members of the cast did good in their roles.  

Chinese conjuror Wei Ling Soo is the most celebrated magician of his age, but few know that he is the stage persona of Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth), a grouchy and arrogant Englishman with a sky-high opinion of himself and an aversion to phony spiritualists' claims. Persuaded by his friend, Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney), Stanley goes on a mission to the Côte d'Azur mansion of the Catledge family: mother Grace (Jacki Weaver), son Brice (Hamish Linklater), and daughter Caroline (Erica Leerhsen). He presents himself as a businessman named Stanley Taplinger in order to debunk the alluring young clairvoyant Sophie Baker (Emma Stone) who is staying there with her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). Sophie arrived at the Catledge villa at the invitation of Grace, who is convinced that Sophie can help her contact her late husband, and once there, attracted the attention of Brice, who has fallen for her head over heels. What follows is a series of events that are magical in every sense of the word and send the characters reeling. In the end, the biggest trick MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT plays is the one that fools us all. © Sony Pictures Classics THE MOVIE
Between the two this has a more serious theme and it is not that predictable, but I must say that I love Enchanted Christmas more than this one. Written and Directed by WOODY ALLEN,  the treatment is quite interesting and there were a lot of good scenes, but I was searching for something more...on how Sophie and Stanley developed their emotions...their feelings for one another.  Maybe Mr. Allen thought that like magic, the two just connected.  I can only speak for myself, but for the love between Sophie and Stanley to seem real, a great 20s outfit is not enough.  There should have been a connection between them.  If I felt that between Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron in Daddy Longlegs and between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casa Blanca, I expected to have goosebumps appearing everywhere during the first meeting of Sophie and Stanley played by EMMA STONE and COLIN FIRTH, respectively.  Well, it didn't happen.  Except for the fact that the rich kid was quite obnoxious even if he was physically appealing, there was nothing indicating that their characters were really in love.  Thankfully, I still love Emma Stone and I still admire Colin Firth.  
I guess that's all I have to say.
Thanks a bunch for your time.