Best movies like A Christmas Letter

Tom Berenger leads an outstanding cast in this bone-crunching dramatization of legendary college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's debut at Texas A&M in the summer of 1954. The often unnerving story finds Bryant ducking the school's good ol' boy network of rich, influential alumni by spiriting his new team away to a makeshift training base in a tiny town called Junction. There, Bryant runs the equivalent of a POW camp, brutalizing an oversized, underdeveloped bunch of rowdy young men and tormenting those who seek medical attention for cracked spines and deadly heat exhaustion. Berenger delivers a warts-and-all performance as the vulgar, monstrous, yet much-respected Bryant, and the direction by seasoned television vet Mike Robe is brisk and almost explosively charged. Whatever one thinks of Bryant's punishing methods, the film does not flinch from telling its powerful tale. --Tom Keogh

The day before the Christmas holiday, Ebenezer Scrooge, a hard-fisted miser, refuses to contribute to the Charity Relief Committee, and then rudely rejects his nephew Fred when he visits Scrooge in his office. When Scrooge returns home, he sees the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who warns him of the punishment he will suffer in the next life if he does not change his ways. That night, Scrooge is visited by three more spirits, who show him his past, the present, and the future that awaits him.

A bitter old miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

Holly, a professor at a small college, has had a long history of finding the wrong guy. She’s accomplished quite a bit in her life, but after her younger sister announces she is pregnant, Holly decides she is going to make an effort to meet Mr. Right. Meanwhile, David, another professor, is a single father, very smart and kind, but not the type that Holly takes notice of when the two are assigned to plan the Christmas Formal. At the insistence of her best friend, Holly signs up for the dating website “Cupid’s Arrow,” where she meets Josh, an attorney just hired by the school. He’s everything she wants on the surface, but has little to say beyond his work and good looks. Josh and David were roommates in college, so Josh recruits David to write poetic messages in an attempt to win Holly over.

Set in the remote Scottish town of Fort William on Christmas Eve, when life is turned upside down for Jen and Rob. Suddenly finding themselves heartbroken, single and stranded, they team up to try and reach home 100 miles away to be with their families. "Borrowing" Jen’s now ex-boyfriend’s classic car, the pair hit the road, but it’s not long before the weather turns for the worse forcing them to continue their journey on foot.

When event planner Chloe is hired to plan the local Christmas Festival, she is beyond thrilled to embrace the challenge. Professionally, everything is going great, but much to the dismay of her mother, Chloe confesses she has given up on ever finding Mr. Right. That all changes the night of the opening of the festival when she meets Evan. The two begin a whirlwind romance, but as Christmas Day nears, Chloe learns that Evan is being transferred overseas for work. What follows is three more Christmases where Chloe and Evan cross paths at the annual festival, but each year something - or someone - stands in the way of true love. Will a touch of Santa's magic on their fourth Christmas Eve finally bring them together?

Single mom Maggie is facing Christmas alone until Lucas crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected house guest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.

Single mother Ryan has just about given up on dating after her divorce, happily accepting her young son as the most important man in her life. That all changes when Ryan's brother Owen, also feeling unlucky in love after a bad breakup, swaps his home in their small North Carolina town with New York City adman Sean.

A Good Samaritan wins a small fortune and decides to play secret Santa to the residents of his small town, soon finding love in the process.

Jeremy, a local police officer leads a life of a confusing past, spending his current time searching for his kidnapper as a child. After other children begin missing, Jeremy pieces together the truth and realizes that his childhood kidnapper could be a creature of ancient yuletide lore, Krampus, who is the brother of St. Nick, and punisher of children who perform acts of unspeakable evil without repercussion. Can Jeremy kill Krampus and prevent more missing children?

The radical new take on Dickens’ classic seeks both to exhume the original story’s gritty commentary on social inequality and the corrupting influence of greed, and to breathe new life into the lyricism of the original text by setting its scenes to extraordinary tableaux of modern dance.

Christmas is a busy, busy time for the residents of Green River, particularly for Grace Long, the third generation of her family to steward the New England town’s signature Christmas Eve parade. This year’s audience for the parade promises to be in the millions, thanks to a national morning show that has chosen Green River as the site of its Christmas Eve day program.

Resort developer Madison Lane is tasked with finding a location for a new ski resort. Her boss tells her to take a trip to Christmas, Colorado, to consider the location. On her way into town, Madison has a minor fender-bender with the town’s welcome sign. Town Sheriff Gage McBride gives Madison a ride into town so she can attend her meeting with the mayor while the car is towed and repaired. Little does Madison know that the town is on a mission to convince Madison that Christmas is the best place for the new ski resort.

MARTHA EVANS has been abandoned by her ne'er-do-well husband, who took all their cash and left her homeless and virtually destitute with her two daughters and stepson. Martha leaves town in hopes of finding a job and a place to stay, she finally finds a job at a sleepy rural diner, formerly famous for its home-made root beer. But with her car broken down and the bills piling up, it looks like it's going to be a bleak Christmas for the Evans family. However, there are warm hearts working behind the scenes that ultimately make this the happiest holiday of Martha's life -- a real answer to her prayers

When Emily, a struggling baker in a small town, receives a handmade Christmas Calendar from a secret admirer, the local residents become obsessed with finding out the identity of the sender.

Hard-working bakery owner Kate Holiday, has more cookie orders than she has time to fill this holiday season, and when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, any shred of Christmas joy she was hanging onto, immediately disappears. After Kate hangs the last ornament on the tree and goes to bed, she awakens the next morning to a little bit of Christmas magic. She gets the surprise of her life when Chip, a handsome soldier who may or may not be the Nutcracker Prince from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” appears in her living room.

Lifestyle guru and romance expert, Joanna Moret, has developed a fool-proof strategy for ending holiday loneliness and it's all detailed in her best-selling book, The Love Audit. After appearing on a morning show, she is offered the biggest opportunity of her career—to throw the MacAllen Holiday Gala—and if all goes well she'll get her own TV show. Little do her fans, or the MacAllen's, know that she is newly single and can't seem to apply her principles to her own love life. Joanna asks the morning show producer, Ted to pretend they are a couple or risk being exposed as a fraud.

Gabby Messinger, a Guardian Angel who has trouble following the rules and is known for meddling in the love live’s of others, is tasked by the Angel Michael to help the town of Angel Falls find its Christmas spirit again.

Christmas designer Leslie Major (Brely Evans) is the biggest fan of Christmas ever. She is like a tidal wave of Yuletide cheer. Her biggest job every year is decorating the lobby of the famed Chesterton Hotel. As she is on a ladder decorating the tree, she falls into the arms of Edmund James (Andra Fuller) - the grandson of the owner JJ James. Edmund is all business and thinks Christmas is superficial and frivolous.

Jack Cameron is a single dad that decides not to observe Christmas because his wife left him around that time. The ghosts of Christmas past and present try and get Jack to relent, but they screw up their jobs and send themselves on a wild ride through time showing up at various times in Jack's past. As they try and rectify the timeline and get back to the real present, some things are not what they used to be.

A woman falls in love with a man who is somewhat unavailable.

Christmas for Miranda (Krakow) is a painful reminder of the family she never had. Her mother died when she was young, never revealing the identity of her father. But, three days before Christmas, she unexpectedly receives a clue as to the whereabouts that takes her to a beautiful New England town where she meets Ian (Matter), a young man who helps with her search. As the clues lead to her father’s identity and Miranda discovers the possibility of love in Ian, and she learns that her father lived in the small town and now she knows his family (her brother and her biological father’s wife). She faces a terrible decision… Should she share the truth and risk losing the family she has just found, or leave and keep the secret forever? This Christmas promises to be life-changing for Miranda with a new chance at life and love.

Just before Christmas, bestselling author Rachel Kennedy returns to her hometown to host an event for her upcoming book. Though being home is difficult since losing her parents and losing touch with her brother, David, she finds strength from unexpected sources, namely her local producer, Jack and a selfless stranger, Joy. Jack and Joy help Rachel connect with the community, reunite with her brother and reevaluate her motivational message. Rachel and Jack develop an undeniable bond, but Rachel is torn between their relationship and career pressure from her manager, Stuart. As the event approaches, Joy reveals a secret from her past that has a lasting impact on Jack, and Rachel must find a message that brings her fans — and herself – lasting joy.

Lisa's trip home to Evergreen for the holidays finds her shepherding an effort to save the town's beloved general store, fulfilling the wishes of a Christmas past and finding a romance full of Christmas magic.

Maddie, a high-powered marketing executive, is on her way to a client’s wedding but her plans are derailed by car trouble. When a fork in the road leads her to Christmas Valley, a town in love with Christmas, an unexpected encounter and a group of strangers that start to feel like family will have her questioning what she’s really been missing in life.

As Christmas approaches, Amelia Hughes, a career-focused Chicago app developer lacking in holiday spirit, returns to her small hometown of Christmas Creek to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. There, she reunites with her childhood best friend Mike and her estranged uncle Harry, whose mysterious rift with Amelia’s father divided her family during the holiday season when she was a child.

When country star Melody Jones is accused of plagiarizing her holiday single, she returns home to spend Christmas with her estranged family and old flame and learns what is important in life.

A workaholic television producer receives a visit from her recently deceased mentor, who warns her that her current path leads to a dark future.

When Anne helps her father close the family's toy store, what she finds will help inspire an entire town that is need of some Christmas cheer.

Katherine is a Ghost of Christmas Present and she must help one soul, Peter, rediscover his Christmas spirit. But this year has something unusual in store.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square join the Muppets® from Sesame Street® and guest vocalist Santino Fontana (the voice of Prince Hans in the popular Disney movie Frozen) in a celebration of the spirit of Christmas. Fontana makes his entrance on this beautifully produced show in a hot air balloon surrounded by large toy airplanes that drop from the ceiling as the Choir opens with the number "The Candyman/Pocketful of Miracles." Other standout moments are a duet with the Count and the Choir's organist, Richard Elliott, to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," a medley of songs from Sesame Street® as well as the popular "Keep Christmas With You," and hilarious hijinks and banter from the Muppets® from Sesame Street® throughout the show. This show is a world-class performance perfect for all ages as you celebrate the Christmas holiday.

While planning an annual Christmas party, Peyton is forced together with Ben to care for a friend's daughter. While finding their Christmas spirit, will there be some romance along the way?

Balancing life is not difficult for single mother Sutton Kim, even when she must spend the Christmas season finding new clients for her publishing firm. Her son Jae, however, is convinced that her mom needs something (or someone!) else in her life, and convinced her to sign up on a dating app. Sutton swipes left on single father Mateo, but when she realizes this Mateo could land her a career changing book deal, she might just let Christmas work its magic…

On the verge of a massive deadline, a cynical workaholic is zapped by faulty Christmas lights while stranded in a small Colorado town and finds herself cast as the lead in an over-the-top Hallmark-style holiday movie. Now she must wrap, bake, and carol herself into some Christmas cheer to break the curse and make her way back ho-ho-home.