Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe - 2009

So-so sequel. When Santa (Sorvino) decides to retire, he wants Mary (McCarthy) to take over the job. Unfortunately, there were some pretty big holes between this storyline and that of its predecessor. Even well into the movie there is little explanation for where the first story left off and this story begins. Mary must go home and again save the day, but you are surprised that she wasn’t already there in the first place! It was also disappointing to have new actors in more than one of the major roles. Santa was apparent immediately, but the boyfriend took some time before we realized that he was the same character, just a new actor. The main outline of this film’s “Christmas conflict” was fairly clever but it really struggled to come together. Nor was Mary’s character as enjoyable this time around. In the first film you felt she just hadn’t “found” herself but in this one you were annoyed she was acting so selfishly. We are pretty forgiving of holiday films so even with its problems we still moderately enjoyed this one. ***

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice - 2009

So-so third installment to this series of films. Flynn must again secure a mythical artifact, this time fighting vampires! Although this film had a fairly strong start, it didn’t seem to have the charm of the earlier two films. The story itself just wasn’t as appealing. Performances were again pretty good and the special effects were equally up to the task but they just couldn’t make up for the lackluster script. We found ourselves rolling our eyes more than once and even considered skipping through certain scenes. We all stuck with it but would certainly not watch this one again. Maybe 2 1/2 stars. **

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines - 2006

Enjoyable sequel. With the world again at risk, Flynn (Wyle) sets out to retrieve an ancient artifact. This film managed to do a good job of following in the footsteps of its predecessor. The story was a light-hearted adventure that included a little humor and romance. Performances again fit in well with the story and enhanced the characters. Special effects were also well done. If you liked the first film, you are sure to enjoy this entertaining sequel.  ***