COLLATERAL BEAUTY

COLLATERAL BEAUTY:   Every Christmas must have at least one tear-jerker of a movie and this is it.  Will Smith portrays Howard, a successful New York ad executive who, after going through a tragedy retreats from life, writing letters to "Death," "Love" and "Time." His co-workers (Edward Norton, Kate Winslet and Michael Pena) do their best to bring him back to reality and hire a few actors (Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley and Jacob Latimore) to aid in the process.  This movie has some slow moments as the story unfolds but all of the performances are top rate and the surprise ending will totally catch you off guard.  It is also beautiful to look at, shot during the Christmas season in New York City when many streets are lit up in their finest.  While not a great movie, it is, nonetheless worth catching but bring Kleenex.