January 2026 Quickie Reviews

January 2026 BREAkdown

• 26 films/series total (not including Hallmark films)
• 4 foreign films/series
• 18 re-watches
• 15 classics
• 1 tv series

Biggest Disappointment: The Cheat

Favorite Discovery: Can This Love Be Translated?

tv series

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (2026) – Another Agatha Christie remake which is appealing on the surface, but lacks soul. I was surprised by who the true antagonist actually was and also by the true reveal of the secret society.

FOREIGN FILMS & SERIES

Speed & Love (2025) – The sizzling chemistry between Esther Yu & He Yu carry this whole series.  They were raised like siblings before being separated for years and then reuniting as adults. I can’t quite figure out when he started seeing her as more than a younger sister, but her persistence and flirty behavior manages to strike an acceptable balance.  I liked that it didn’t wander too far from the web novel version. Loved the third wheel bestie who has the leads’ best interests at heart. This one is beautifully shot with a great soundtrack.

Can This Love Be Translated? (2026) – Kim Seon Ho is back in a romantic role! and he does so well as an emotionally restrained character whose expressions let his heart leak out the words he won’t say. I also think Go Youn Jung was surprisingly good in her dual role. I was a bit confused at first as to why her zombie character was haunting her, but as the plot progressed I thought it was an interesting way to address and deal with her character’s childhood trauma. The travel scenes were beautiful and very enjoyable. It was nice to “re-visit” Canada vicariously, to see again places I’ve seen in real life.
I think this is one I will probably re-watch again eventually as it has more depth than I was able to process in a first time watch.

Love Between the Lines (2026) – IF cotton candy was a romance, this would be it, though the story alternates between darker elements of past tragedy and trauma and the sweetness of two people falling love.  It was a fun idea to add in an element of cosplay and have them meet in a VR game and I was even happier to see actor Cheng Xing Xu in Republican era costuming again since it suits him so well! The female lead was both kind and strong in pursuing her career and her man. There are some memorable romantic scenes that I enjoyed including one where they are arguing and he walks up behind her and swoops her up with one arm while pivoting to set her on the hood of the car. It was so smoothly done, I had to watch the scene several times. These two are very considerate and empathic towards each other and are really adorable together. This show is unique in that it gave viewers an antagonist that we could sympathize with who also served as a second love interest for the female lead.

Sh**ting Stars  (2022) (Re-watch)

 

CLASSICS

No Time for Comedy (1940) – (Re-watch)This has all the gloss and polish of an MGM vehicle, beautiful sets, a good cast and likable characters and yet it fell so flat even Rosalind Russell and James Stewart can’t save it. As a successful playwright, Stewart’s character is not in the least endearing and I honestly wish Roz had just kicked him to the curb. He didn’t deserve her support and forbearance.  Their sassy, mouthy maid was the best thing about this film.

They Call It Sin (1932) -(Re-watch) In this zippy little pre-Code, a young Loretta Young gets to wear gorgeous clothes and looks beautiful doing it.  As an ingenue who moves to the big city, NYC that is, she gets entangled with three men and ditzy blond best friend played by the entertaining Una Merkel. None of the love lines interested me at all and in the end she chooses the man she spent the least amount of time with which made no sense.

Marriage is a Private Affair (1944) – (Re-watch) Surprisingly thoughtful for a Lana Turner film. She does well as an innocent young woman who doubts her own commitment to marriage since she’s never experienced what a healthy romantic relationship looks like. I wish the male actors had been more engaging and I also wish the film had shown her spending more time with her father since he seems to have had the most positive influence on her. The writers did a decent job exploring the psychology behind her thoughts and actions, although they could have gone deeper.

Too Many Husbands (1940) – (Re-watch) Reminded me a bit of Design for Living with two men in love with one woman and she in love with both of them although the story is more similar to My Favorite Wife where a woman finds her first husband alive after re-marrying. Jean Arthur, Melvyn Douglas and Fred MacMurray star in this rather cheeky comedy in which we get to see the wife deliberately postponing her choice just to enjoy the attention of both husbands. Even the ending is a bit unusual for this time period and I was so here for it!

Over the Moon (1939) – (Re-watch) A slightly unusual take on a young woman who becomes a famous heiress overnight which causes her to lose her principled doctor fiancé. The color process for this film is a bit rudimentary looking and it’s strange that the beautiful Merle Oberon would chase a young and homely Rex Harrison around the whole time, but she was so charming in her enjoyment of her new wealth. It was a nice twist that one of her new friends came from old money, but was realistic about the disappointments of being wealthy.

Dulcy (1940) – (Re-watch) I’d forgotten how delightfully funny this one is. Ann Southern is so charming as the ditzy, dumb blonde with a heart of gold whose good intentions are constantly mistaken due to often disastrous results.

What a Woman (1943)   (Re-watch) – In one of four pictures they starred together, Rosalind Russell and Brian Aherne fail to make this one interesting, although Aherne’s rather insouciant attitude toward’s Roz’s serious literary agent at least add some light-heartedness

Cairo (1942) – (Re-watch) Remember really loving this one last time, probably because I was so surprised by how well Robert Young and Jeanette MacDonald play off each other in this comedy about two people who mistake each other for spies.

The Cheat (1915) – Well considering this is considered a famous silent film, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the re-make starring Tallulah Bankhead. But considering I can finally claim to have seen a film starring the famous Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa, I consider it worth my time.

Three Wise Fools (1946) (Re-watch) – You can’t go wrong with a young Margaret O’Brien in a starring role as an Irish orphan who acts like an old lady. She’s followed around by an old man servant and taken in  by three elderly men with ulterior motives whose hearts she eventually soften. These parts are filled by the outstanding supporting actors Thomas Mitchell, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold & Lewis Stone.

The Impatient Years (1944) (Re-watch)- The last of three films starring Jean Arthur together, this time as father and daughter and their rapport is the best in the film. She co-stars with Lee Bowman as a war time couple who have to relieve their four day courtship before getting divorced. There are some pretty funny misunderstandings in this set up, so it’s not bad. But Arthurs seems bored with her character and Bowman has no screen presence.

No More Ladies (1935)  (Re-watch)- More MGM gloss with a fantastic cast, beautiful costumes and settings. Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone and Robert Montgomery in a love triangle which I couldn’t get very invested in. The highlight is Edna Oliver as the ascerbic, honest grandmother who knows what’s what. I’m mad that Joan decides to stay with her cheating husband at the end.

The Affairs of Martha (1942) (Re-watch)- Marsha Hunt at her most beautiful as a maid with secrets stars with Richard Carlson who shows a charm I didn’t know he possessed.  One which is that she is married to her employer’s son and the other is that she’s the author of an expose about working as a maid.

Woman Chases Man (1937) (Re-watch) – Miriam Hopkins is a force of nature both as an actress and as the female lead. This is all fluff with some nonsense thrown in. The end has a very memorable and funny set of scenes with the leads in a tree.

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) (Re-watch)- If you want to visit Rome and Venice and experience the beauty of travel without the expense or the hassle, this is the film for you! Not to mention it features two international screen icons Louis Jordan and Rossano Brazzi doing what they do best. it’s nice to see the naive, but frank and charming Maggie McNamara in one of her few films.

POST 1980’S

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023) – With a premise about a man walking across the country to help a friend, I was hoping this British film would be more light and quirky, but it ended up being rather slow and depressing. I think it was trying to be serious and deep in exploring the unresolved grief and regrets of its’ main character, but it left me unmoved.

The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race  (2023) – This Australian film was adapted from a successful play which focuses on women, their relationships and a woman’s fight for equality in a town’s popular annual event. This had potential to be both entertaining and inspiring, but failed in both by not developing the characters well at all.

If You Believe (1999) – Ally Walker (Ashley Bartlett Bacon of While You Were Sleeping fame) and a very young Hayden Panettiere star in this television holiday film about a jaded woman who is visited by the child version of her self in an attempt recapture her joie de vivre. Despite its’ limitations, it’s rather charming. I felt like I had time traveled back to 90’s NYC and felt rather nostalgic too.

Re-watch – Julie & Julia, New in Town, All I Want for Christmas