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Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week.

One Royal Holiday (Hallmark Channel)
Starring: Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, and Krystal Joy Brown
Synopsis: Every year the Hallmark Channel unveils a host of new Christmas movies. And every year, I watch a lot of them with my wife. This is one I watched this week, which continues a strong tradition of single crown princes from non-descript European country who finds love with a small town American girl. We get one pretty much every year on Hallmark, and has been done with many non-Hallmark movies, and it always seems to work for audiences. This one is about the same, with Osnes playing said girl and Tveit playing said non-descript European crown prince. This one's set in Connecticut, follows the prince and his mother as they're snowed in at a charming bed and breakfast where they discover the spirit of Christmas and he finds love with the Innkeeper's daughter. It's entertaining enough and hits all the typical notes.
Rating: N/A
Verdict: Two stars out of four.

Operations Christmas Drop (Netflix)
Starring: Kat Graham, Alexander Ludwig, and Virginia Madsen
Synopsis: Netflix continues its release of Christmas films with a number that dropped on Friday, most notably "Operation Christmas Drop." The film is based on a real mission the military completes each year delivering toys and supplies to small islands. In this film, the pilot leading that charger (Ludwig) entertains a Congressional aide (Graham) who was sent to determine the efficiency of the base and mission. The Congresswoman (Madsen) she works for wants to close the base down, but the mission ends up charming the aide, where she also finds a connection to the pilot she didn't expect. This one is a typical Christmas romance, and one that works pretty well. Some beautiful tropical locations and a heart-warming story. This one works pretty well.
Rating: TV-G
Verdict: Three Stars out of four.

The Outpost (Netflix)
Starring: Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, and Orlando Bloom
Synopsis: This is another true story about a military outpost, but this one's a bit darker and more sobering. It's about an indefensible base set up in Afghanistan and the men charged with defending the base. This one was released on Netflix and has had some limited run in theaters as we're hitting the Veteran's Day holiday. It has a strong cast but also tells a somewhat brutal story. This one can be somewhat tough to watch, but has some good performances and tells the story of a battle and a group of heroes we haven't heard much about. It's worth checking out if you're OK with movies that have modern levels of combat violence. It's also a nice tribute to the soldiers who fought and died there.
Rating: R for war violence and grisly images, pervasive language, and sexual references.
Verdict: Three stars out of four.

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