april 2026 BREAkdown
- 25 films/series total (not including Hallmark films)
- 3 foreign films/series
- 16 re-watches
- 19 classics
- 4 tv series
Biggest Disappointment: South of Suez
Favorite Discovery: Best Medicine
My Life is Murder Season 5 – Thankfully they’ve toned down the bright color blocking wardrobe from previous seasons.
The Puzzle Lady/ Murder Most Puzzling – Everyone’s favorites Downton Abbey housekeeper is back. Only this time Phyllis Logan is playing a very different character as a day-drinking, bold wardrobe wearing, fake crossword puzzle maker who turns amateur detective.
Best Medicine (2026) – A re-make of the popular British series Doc Martin which was a personal favorite. It lacks the dry wit and blunt conversation of the original, but has its’s own charm. The characters’ are more sympathetic and likeable and the townspeople remind me very much of of Gilmore Girls Stars Hollow – quirky, chaotic and endearing. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed an American series as much as this.
Doctor Thorne (2016) – Rewatch – Based on an Anthony Trollope story and produced by Julian Fellowes, this is a personal favorite that is always a pleasurable experience.
FOREIGN FILMS AND DRAMAS
In Your Radiant Season (2026) – Somehow the main romance was the least compelling aspect of this show even though it was supposed to be important enough for both of them to save each other and remember each other after seven years apart. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as interesting as the three other romances happening on screen. The mystery behind the accident that caused the male lead to lose his hearing and his memory dragged on too long and was underwhelming. As was the female lead’s angsty grief which annoyed me rather then moved me. If she would just have given him a chance to explain!!!! I hate this style of conflict in a drama. Loved all the family scenes with the sisters and their grandmother. The way the sisters fight and support each other felt so true to life.
Pretty Proofreader (2016) – This is a lightweight Japanese drama on Prime that surprisingly has a lot of heart thanks to its endearingly imperfect heroine. She’s earnestly sincere, dramatic and yaps like a chihuahua, but manages to impact everyone around her. Despite not gaining her long dreamed of job as a fashion editor but instead landing in the proofreading department, she tackles her work as if it is the most important thing she will ever do. I love her combative relationship with her editor/co-worker much more than the romance she develops with her male love interest.
I Hear Your Voice (2013) – I can’t quite figure out what I find so compelling about this one, when the female lead is such a brat and the massive age gap romance makes me uncomfortable since their feelings start while he is still in high school and she is a grown adult. But the writers did a good job with both plot and story development besides an overuse of tropes. The secondary characters were well fleshed out and just as interesting as the leads.
CLASSIC FILMS
The Goose and the Gander (1935) – Re-watch – It’s always a pleasure to re-visit this delightful little rom-com starring George Brent & Kay Francis. It’s light, frothy and fun.
Skyscraper Souls (1932) – An ensemble piece starring Warren William & Maureen O’Sullivan that I had a hard time getting into. O’Sullivan is charming as a young secretary, especially the scenes where she gets drunk on champagne. She is stalked into a relationship with her love interest and it really makes me mad that he won’t take no for an answer. So of course, she must fall in love with him. I really didn’t care about any of the other characters.
Union Pacific (1939) – Re-watch – A Cecil B DeMille film is never small in any aspect and this is one of my favorites of his. Barbara Stanwyck does a good Irish accent as the heroine who is the third point of a love triangle between Joel McCrea and Robert Preston. The relationship between the two men who were former army comrades turned opponents in love and business is one of the most interesting aspects of this film. Preston is especially good as a man who walks the line between good and the unlawful while genuinely being in love. McCrea’s two sidekicks in cleaning up corruption are also highly entertaining. All this plays out against background of the race to build the railroad across the country.
South of Suez (1940) – I got a bit of whiplash watching this one. It starts out in the mining camps of Africa where George Brent is framed for murder only to end up in the posh drawing rooms of England where Brent has miraculously re-imagined himself as a finance magnate hiding under a new name. Sadly his co-star Brenda Marshall is bland, but fortunately Eric Blore who plays his butler is able to keep things interesting. He’s such a scene stealer! This film also serves up a pretty good villain who made me seethe with the injustice of his actions.
Honeymoon for Three (1941) – Re-watch – There’s nothing too special about this light screwball comedy other than it’s an amusing little picture. George Brent is a playboy author who is kept in line by his long-suffering secretary Ann Sheridan who is in love with him. After he gets entangled by an old girlfriend, things start to pick up, especially when Charles Ruggles, who is always outstanding joins the story as the ex-girlfriend’s husband who wants to off-load his wife onto Brent!
Miss Pinkerton (1932) – There’s not a whole lot to say about this Pre-Code picture other than that Joan Blondell is always a joy to watch on screen. She’s a nurse who is working with the police to solve a crime. Plus, she gets to show off her talent for screaming.
Now and Forever (1934) – Re-watch – I think Shirley Temple is my favorite Gary Cooper co-star even though this isn’t really her film. They have this sweet and playful rapport as a father and daughter. Carole Lombard is beautiful and warm as Cooper’s girlfriend who wants him to stop living as a con-man and settle down, but doesn’t really get a lot of screen time. This has an unexpected and kind of sad ending.
The Right to Live (1935) – Rewatch – This is a melodramatic story without the drama! Every character is likeable and trying to do the right thing and yet it isn’t very memorable. Josephine Hutchinson is very elegant and noble in her role as the love interest of two brothers which makes me wonder why she wasn’t more successful in films despite a long career.
The Lady Says No (1951) – Rewatch -So utterly ridiculous that I struggled through the short run time. I stuck it out for David Niven.
Son of the Gods (1930) –Rewatch – An early take on racism and inter-racial relationships that’s not half-bad, although the writers copped out at the end. My personal favorite Constance Bennet still plays a wealthy glamorous type, but this time one with a little more depth. There’s a shocking scene where she publicly whips her boyfriend after finding out he’s Chinese even though she claimed to support inter-racial relationships.
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) – Rewatch – A very beautifully polished production with an experienced and talented cast which make this a pleasure to re-visit every so often. I’ve never seen white collar thieves so likeable that their victims actually speak up for them.
So Big (1932) – Rewatch – This film is completely carried by Barbara Stanwyck who makes the most of it’s short run time, truncated plot development and terrible aging makeup to play a woman who survives and makes the most of life’s challenges. Of all the hardships she endured I felt the most sorry for her raising an ungrateful son. Bette Davis and George Brent join in the last part of the picture and Bette is at her most beautiful and glowing as the woman who helps the son see the true strength of his mother.
Secrets of an Actress (1938) – Rewatch – This is one of several Kay Francis and George Brent pictures together and one which is utterly bland. Francis plays an admirable heroine with gumption who pursues her dream of starring on Broadway with integrity and that is the most interesting part of the show. The love triangle is rather boring and takes up a good part of the run time. Her bestie is hilarious though.
Latin Lovers (1953) – Rewatch – I remember appreciating this more the first time around. I’m not a fan of love at first sight plots, especially ones with so many practical obstacles to overcome. I also could have lived without the musical numbers. However, Lana Turner is gorgeous, shares nice chemistry with Ricardo Montalban and a I love the colorful setting of Brazil. Louis Calhern is also very entertaining as the charming rogue of a grandfather.
Wife Vs. Secretary (1936) – Rewatch – It’s nice to watch a movie featuring a happily married couple and Clark Gable and Myrna Loy are especially delightful together with all their playful and tender interactions. I do think she has a right to be concerned about Jean Harlow’s secretary as she is beautiful and the working partnership between her and Gable is much too close and familiar for a wife’s comfort.
Gold is Where You Find It( 1938) – Rewatch – This colorful Western depicts the struggle between farmers and gold miners after the Civil War. It has a great cast including Claude Rains, Olivia de Havilland and George Brent and I found the glamorized history lesson fascinating. It’s also interesting to see the greed of those with money and power and their utter contempt for the law and the people. But aside from that the characters and their relationships fell flat for me.
The Rains Came (1939) – Rewatch – One of my favorite classic disaster films. It has an excellent cast with George Brent & Myrna Loy playing people that are anything but stereotypical; amoral, unapologetic wastrels, but that’s what makes their character arcs more compelling. The special effects for the earthquake and flood are fantastic.
The Painted Veil (1934) -Rewatch – Though I’m not a Greta Garbo fan, this was one I found entertaining in the past. This time around, I didn’t find it so. There’s a lot more moralizing that I remembered.
The Go Getter (1937) – Rewatch – One of George Brent’s best films, he is the Go-getter of the title and a more determined one, you’ll never find and with an extremely positive mindset despite the loss of his leg. Anita Louise is charmingly sweet as his love interest. Always a fun watch!
