Reviews

I love Lucy Hale, but I thought this was a premise that started well and then just devolved into a film I wouldn't recommend to anyone. I enjoyed seeing The Facts of Life Actress Mindy Cohn, who played the plucky best friend and colleague Pricilla.

Lucy is a violinist, who gets caught working on her shopping list while her boyfriend is making love to her. The two breakup after a big blowup fight in which she discovers he watches porn and he accuses her of being too inhibited. Lucy then decides to make a sexual discovery "to do" list...during the completion of which she meets the handsome Grant. What starts out as kind of a funny premise becomes a downhill slide into ridiculous and unenjoyable. I wish I could say differently, because I just love Lucy Hale, but this one was a miss for me and not on my recommended list.

This film begins like a mini documentary on the making of American currency, including how counterfeit money is caught. We follow one such counterfeit bill to the Secret Service, where they identify it coming from an arrested counterfeiter, Stewart. When they arrested him they didn't get the plates and they try to make a deal with him to fake a prison transfer breakout in order to reconnect with his old crew, for the Secret Service to get the counterfeit plates back. Everything seems to be going well, except it seems that Stewart might be planning a double cross.

Tris Stewart is played exceptionally by Lloyd Bridges and the film has what a lot of noirs lack...that sense of urgency in this dash to out maneuver the Secret Service. Barbara Payton is lovely both in and out of her Chesterfield cigarette girl costume as Meg Dixon, Tris' old girlfriend.

"I know Hackett's record. Every night he went home and robbed his mother."

"This isn't exactly a social call."-Tris

When he finds out his partner sold the plates and gambled away all of the money, Tris' day goes from bad to worse. What he doesn't know is the secret service has been one step ahead of him the whole time. So when Tris decides to rob the safe at the club where his girl works...the Secret Service has to devise a plan to keep him from getting caught. Still desperate to get their hands on the counterfeit plates they are in this till the end.

Fairly straightforward crime noir and one that noir fans will appreciate especially since it pairs Lloyd Bridges and Barbara Payton.

This is an interesting and unusual film noir that should be on every film noir fan's "must watch" list. The cinematic effects used for a nightmare, in which our protagonist thinks he remembers a murder in a room filled with mirrors, lends itself to this disorienting psychological thriller...and physiological it is.

Poor bank teller Vince wakes from a nightmare in which he kills someone. He calls in sick to work and after a day spent trying to piece the nightmare together he seeks his brother-in-law police detective Cliff out to get him to help explain the unexplainable...because not only does he wake up with a key and blood on his wrist. Cliff tries to blow it off as Vince has been overworking. He places an ad in the newspaper in order to find the house in his nightmare.

On a relaxing picnic outing with his sister, brother-in-law, and sweetheart Betty...he finds the house with the mirrored room in Solanda Canyon...with serious deja vu they enter the home with Cliff noticing that Vince knows more than he should about the house. There's no longer a body locked in the room Vince left him in, but Cliff is now convinced due to some blood left in the room that Vince is a murderer and has been yanking his chain about the dream.

This psychological noir creates an interesting mystery that is solved by a tenacious soul who finally puts all the details together.

Lionel Barrymore is the patriarch of this decidedly eccentric household. His daughter Penny is currently a want to be a playwrite with a typewriter and a kitten for a paperweight. Her husband and his partner are making fireworks in the basement. One of his granddaughters is a want to be dancer who makes candy on the side and her husband is a drummer who makes gag devices for fun and sells and delivers the candy boxes. There is a pet raven, a home sweet home sign that is continually falling, a bell to call everyone for news like a town crier, test explosions going off regularly....and tons of the most ridiculous dialogue you have ever heard. His other granddaughter, Alice, appears to be the most "normal" of the bunch. She is currently working at a bank where the youngest bank vice-president (and son of the owner aka Tony Kirby) has set his sights on her. The plot is one of romance...but there is an even bigger David vs The Goliath story, which masquerades as a lesson about how money doesn't bring you happiness.

There is some phenomenal acting in this film and it really is Frank Capra at his best. The pairing of Jean Arthur as Alice and James Stewart as Tony is absolute screen gold. These two have amazing chemistry with one another and they are just the sweetest pairing ever. But don't make a mistake...this is Lionel Barrymore's show and he puts on a clinic as Martin Vaderhof. I loved everything from his sweet conversation about love and his wife with his granddaughter, to rationalizing not paying taxes with a gentleman from the IRS, to rallying the neighborhood and refusing to sell his properly. Even his dinner prayer is worth a listen!

Fans of screwball comedy should most definitely watch this as should fans of classic film, Frank Capra, Jean Arthur, Jimmy Stewart, Edward Arnold, and Lionel Barrymore. Donald Meek plays a particularly delightful want to be toy maker...and I found Spring Byington utterly delightful as the slightly flighty mom.

If I haven't said this before...Jean Arthur is as lovely as she is sweet.

"That family of yours. Boy, they knocked me for a loop. I don't know it just seems like in their own way they've found what everybody's looking for. People spend their whole lives building castles in the air and then nothing ever comes of it. I wonder why that is? While it takes courage, everybody's afraid to live."-Tony

"You ought to hear grandpa on that subject. You know he says most people these days are run by fear. Fear of what they eat, fear of what they drink, fear of their jobs, their future, their health. They are scared to save money and scared to spend it. You know what his pet aversion is? People who commercialize on fear. They scare you to death so they can sell you something you don't need.... He kind of taught all of us not to be afraid of anything, to do what we want to do. Well, it's kind of fun anyway."-Alice.

Gorgeous remote seaside backdrop for a film that is Similar to Glass Onion and Then Then There Were None, but lighter and Mexican. The acting was decent and I think cosy mystery fans and hardcore fans of Glass Onion might like this.

The story follows true crime podcaster Agatha as she is invited with five other acquaintances to an evening at her half-sister's seaside estate. On the first evening her sister, Olivia, plummets to her death while they are all onboard for a dinner and overnight at her bequest. Olivia is an eccentric millionaire and at the dinner she announced someone was going to be murdered, Agatha just didn't believe it would be her sister. Now Agatha along with a rookie cop is determined to solve her murder...luckily all the suspects are trapped at their seaside location.

I loved the secret doors and the revelations about their past...along with some decent detective work, but this is definitely on the lighter side of sleuthing.

My review is based on watching this film in it's original Spanish language with English subtitles.

Lie, cheat, steal and kill...that is the charming international criminal named Dimitrios' M. O. No government ever caught Dimitrios, so there is no photo in his dossier, but he is well known in Athens, Sophia, Belgrade, Paris and Istanbul. He was thought to have been murdered by stabbing and his body washed ashore in Istanbul 1938. This is where we join the story with the famous Dutch mystery writer and former University of Amsterdam professor of economics, Cornelius Leyden. When approached by an admirer of his writings, Leyden confesses to an interest in the macabre as he has never seen a dead body and he is invited to see Demitrios'.

Thus begins a fascinating mystery as we uncover Dimitrios' depraved life, through stories told by others. C. Leyden traces Demitrios' trail from Athens to Sophia to Geneva and beyond. His search takes him to a jaded entertainer in a club in Sophia where a belly dancer is performing while smoking a cigarette in front of a giant gong...he meets a gentleman who is a master spy and has two Siamese cats named after the lovers Eloise and Abelard, he keeps bumping in to a peculiar man who he shares a train car with and ends up in Paris to "An oasis in a desert of discomfort" where he finally unravels the mystery that is Dimitrios.

I loved the international backdrop of this story and the acting was definitely top shelf. The one area where I really had to suspend my belief was in the casting of the diminutive Peter Lorre (aka László Löwenstein) as a Dutch mystery writer. The only saving grace is that he is a phenomenal actor, just not believable as a Dutchman. Fun with lots of twists, this is one of those noirs that should be on every film noir fan's list. Definitely a recommendation and I got a big kick out of the belly dance number in the smoky Sophia club.

Victor Mature plays Nick Bianco, who tries to go straight and have a family life...but instead runs into the problem of a lot of former criminals, who are passed over for jobs because of their criminal background. It's Christmas and with two young daughters counting on Nick to put presents under the tree, Nick pulls a jewelry store robbery with his old gang. Unfortunately, Nick is shot and subsequently caught and arrested in the process. At the time of his arrest the prosecuting attorney applies a lot of pressure to Nick trying to get him to turn on the rest of the gang...using his family as leverage. Secure that his fellow crew members are taking care of his family, Nick refuses to squeal...until his wife commits suicide and his daughters end up in the orphanage.

Just when Nick remarries a sweet girl named Nettie and is creating a lovely family with his girls...the jury comes back and this heartless criminal Tommy Udo is let loose back into society with a taste for revenge on Nick.

There are some wonderful performances all around. I did find Richard Widmark's portal of Tommy Uno to grate on my nerves with his obnoxious laugh, anxious behavior and vile smile. Colleen Gray was a lovely surprise as Nettie and both Brian Donlevy and Karl Malden put in solid performances on the right side of the law. This crime noir is heavy on the snitch storyline but should make noir fans' watch list. This is definitely Victor Mature's film and he is oddly compelling as this reformed family man.

Joan Crawford plays a strong women and the brains of a criminal gang consisting of two brothers and one of their wives. After consulting a doctor about her headaches and given the bad news that she could go blind within the week if she doesn't have this specialty surgery, she moves up their planned heist job. The job is to rob an illegal gambling house that Joan has been frequenting in the process of staking it out. The older brother, Matt, is a bit of a violent and jealous hot head...which ultimately creates problems for everyone including Joan Crawford's character Beth. Beth leaves to have surgery with a specialist...and the separation allows for a lot of things. Her surgeon Dr. Ben Halleck, is not only handsome but good and kind. The two develop a kind of romance and it looks like she might be able to get out of the life and go straight...until the Louisiana police and Matt interfere.

Joan Crawford is wonderful in this film. There is so much ground covered in this film clubs, restaurants, trailer parks, women's prison, hospitals...this film required a lot of extras, who were wonderful. The real scene stealer however is the good doctor Ben Halleck, played by Dennis Morgan and his adorable daughter Susan, Sherry Jackson. Very dramatic with a noir like story, Joan Crawford fans will be thrilled. This isn't Mildred Pierce, but it's still pretty good.

This film starts with the most callous murder I have ever seen on screen as this woman steps out of a plantation home where she keeps firing a gun over and over at this man who tumbles down the stairs...clearly dead long before she stops firing. She has this cold completely uncaring countenance as she coolly returns to inside.

Eventually, people come running and everyone treats her with a level of deference that she clearly doesn't deserve. We learn she is the wife of a Malayan rubber plantation administrator and named Leslie Crosbie, played by Bette Davis. What acts for authority takes Leslie to Singapore where the attorney general determines that she must sit for a trial. And just when her lawyer is confident of their success...as the title implies word of a letter comes up as he is approached by a representative of the victim's widow, a local woman who is in possession of an incriminating letter from Leslie to the deceased.

This is a beautiful film and surprisingly suspenseful as it builds up to it's shocking conclusion. I felt terrible for the husband Robert, played by Herbert Marshall. He is so delightfully positive it was difficult to watch. Beautiful cinematography and interesting for its setting alone, this is a must see for Bette Davis fans and fans of crime noir.

I was really disappointed to see that no effort was made to cast the Dutch roles in this film with convincing Dutchmen (or women). I am not sure why they thought anyone would believe that this predominately British Cast could pass as Dutch when then not only don't look the part, but don't sound the part either. That aside the story was about a by the book bookkeeper named Kees Popinga, who discovers that his boss (the owner of the company, Julius de Koster) has bankrupted the business and is going run with the rest of the money and his French mistress Michèle. When Kees confronts Julius, his boss has an accident and dies. Kees then takes the money and boards a train to France where he seeks out Julius' French mistress, who initially doesn't give him the time of day. All the while Kees is being followed and badgered by a Paris inspector named Lucas. When the inspector lets it slip that Kees has Julius' money, Michèle...who was only bilking Julius of his money for her real boyfriend the wastrel Louis, changes her tune about Kees Popinga...the mild mannered bookkeeper from Groningen.

I was irritated by the portrayal of the Dutch and the disdain shown by the French. I notice that they did use French speaking actors to play the French roles...making the lack of Dutch accents even more noticeable. To be honest, I am not the biggest Claude Rains fan and him playing the very non-Dutch Kees Popinga did not win me over. Slow moving, but great cinematography...I think train aficionados will enjoy this film. I preferred the title The Man Who Watched Trains to The Paris Express. I wish they had handled Groningen and the Dutch aspects of this film with more care and this really keeps it from being recommend in my book.

The voluptuous Swedish bombshell Anita Ekberg is the draw in this late 50's psychological film noir. She went from winning Miss Sweden 1950 to playing Virginia aka the nightclub dancer Yolanda, who has an incredibly sexy and suggestive modern dance number in a club run by the tough and hardened Gypsy (played by the real Gypsy Rose Lee).

I will say her dance number (which appears in it's entirety twice) is worth seeing, and so is Gypsy Rose Lee's performance of "Put the Blame on Mame".

Now for the story...Virginia is attacked in the shower by a man wielding a knife, who is shot and killed in front of her. In the moment, her screams left such a huge impression on her step brother (or half brother) that he had to sculpt her in the moment. Thus the birth of the screaming Mimi statue. Meanwhile, Virginia seeks psychological help at a hospital where her treating physician falls in love with her. Fast forward to Virginia working as a dancer named Yolanda with her doctor, under a different name, playing her overprotective manager. It is then that a women ends up stabbed to death with a steaming Mimi statue left broken with her body. The handsome columnist Bill Sweeny becomes enchanted with Yolanda and is left to figure it all out.

The lure is the ladies, although the California coastline is also lovely. I think film noir fans will enjoy this slightly more modern noir. I loved Yolanda's massive dog Devil...in fact he man be my favorite character in the film!

This was a rewatch for me, as I actually saw it back in the 90's and remembered enjoying it. This time around I shared it with my husband, who was delighted that it is set in our beloved backyard and the Old Seattle that we knew and cherished, not the current filthy, lawless, cesspool that has put such high taxes on filming that they all fake a Seattle location with film shot up in Vancouver, B. C. The city and coastline are gorgeously shown off and they chose a lovely designed home for our architect and his blended family.

The film does an excellent job laying the ground work for this psychological thriller, allowing Nicole (a young and lovely Reese Witherspoon) and David (a young Mark Wahlberg) to fall in love in a very natural and believable way. The father Steve (played by C. S. I's William Petersen) is understandably concerned and protective of his daughter Nicole. Everything is fairly copacetic, until a violent incident occurs that makes Nicole question the type of person David really is...but David slowly wins back her trust with the usual promises of 'it will never happen again'. In fact part of the beauty of this film is it's ability to lure you in to a sense of complacency before peeling back the curtain to its violent end. There are a few thriller cliches...like I am sure everyone will predict what happened to the security guard, but there are also a few smart moves that I hadn't seen before (like the home security and the brother's quick thinking in the moment.

Overall, I think this is an enjoyable psychological thriller that shows off Seattle well. I thought the performances by young Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg and Alyssa Milano were well cast and well done. And I thought the adults weren't too shabby either, I particularly enjoyed the performance of the step-mother played by Amy Brenneman. If you are a fan of thrillers particularly those of the psychological variety, I think this should be on your "to see" list. Go in with an open mind and I think you will be entertained.

My husband and I are huge Thin Man fans and I mean huge...our first couple of dates were spent going to the theater to see the entire Thin Man series of films on the big screen. Hand in hand with being Thin Man fans is being fans of William Powell, which is why I was surprised that we hadn't seen this little gem.

As I understand it, after the success of the first Thin Man film William Powell was loaned out to the Radio Pictures Studio for Star of Midnight which is shockingly similar. This had all of the hallmarks of a Thin Man film, minus some of the more colorful characters and of course Myrna Loy! Powell plays lawyer Clay "Dal" Dalzell and the witty repartee comes between him and Ginger Rogers who plays the lovely but dogged socialite Donna Mantin.

Donna Mantin has been in love with Dal since she was a child and when Dal is approached by his young friend Tim Winthrop to help find his missing sweetheart, she seizes the opportunity to trick Dal in to helping her get letters back from gangster Jimmy Kinland, help him find the missing Alice...all while trying to trap him into marrying her. The mystery begins before Del even starts looking for the missing Alice, when Tim spots her in a New York show during a live performance under an assumed name and shouts her real name out in the theater, only for her to go missing again! Meanwhile, the tenacious reporter Tommy Tennant winds up dead just as he is revealing a breaking story tied to the missing girl to Dal. Tommy is shot dead and Dal is winged in the process, but winds up picking up the murder weapon...making him the prime suspect when New York's finest flat foot inspectors show up to investigate.

I absolutely love this film! Is it the Thin Man? No, but it is the next best thing. William Powell is his usual suave self and a true joy to watch as he downs cocktails like Sidecars, three olive dry Martinis, and Gimlets all while getting ahead of everyone else in solving the murder, retrieving the letters, and finding the missing Alice. He is self proclaimed a "Charlie Chan, Philo Vance and The Sphinx" all rolled into one. His apartment is a modern deco marvel and worth seeing...especially the bathroom. The dialog is fun and snappy...

"If in my communings with the spirits, astral or liquid, I receive any any message or omen I'll let you know."-Dal

"The woman is a shameless hussy and a fact distorter!"-Dal

"You're not in love with a woman but a card trick."-Dal

"Sergeant, you are right. That ain't impossible either."-Dal

"Swain! Orange Juice, coffee! Don't spare the horses!"-Dal

"Oh, that's alright, we nurses are used to our patients' eccentricities. They often get violent."-Donna

"You know me the Florence Nightingale of Park Avenue."-Donna

"You're something of a criminologist." "Well, I have read everything Edgar Wallace ever did."-Dal

I missed Myrna Loy, but Ginger Rogers gave it her all even copying Myrna's Nora's signature nose scrunch, parrying playful kicks to the backside, getting the hallway brush off ala Nick and Nora, and getting saddled with the bar bill. I think Thin Man and William Powell fans will eat this up like a stuffed egg. Grab a cocktail, sit back and enjoy!

I am really enjoying the slow build and mature relationship being built between caterer Goldie and Detective Tom. This was a departure in that it takes place over less than twenty four hours at a costumed fundraising function at a gorgeous vintage building in a snow storm. Goldie has been asked to cater the event, her daughter is participating in a fencing demonstration, and both her ex husband and Tom are invited as guests for the event.

Trapped together because of the snow storm, their host is murdered and Goldie, Tom, his two fellow detectives, a U. S. Marshal who showed up uninvited looking for Tom's father who is a recently escaped prisoner, Goldie's daughter and her best friend all work together to try to solve this murder.

The costuming was fun and I loved Goldie's dress it was very flattering. I loved the romantic repartee between Tom and Goldie throughout this episode. I also appreciated the pacing and twists added to this plot and even though I had worked out the mystery, I still enjoyed it.

This Hallmark Mystery series is based on the books by Diane Mott and while I haven't read one yet...they are encouraging me to do so.

I recommend this series to my fellow Hallmark mystery fans and am really looking forward to the next one. The acting is great and so far the storytelling is interesting.

It was nice seeing both Natasha Burnett and Viv Leacock outside of their roles as a married couple on When Calls The Heart. It was also really nice to hear Natasha's actual speaking voice for a change.

The story is about a London based British antique dealer named Amelia Scott, who together with her business partner is carrying on her mother's research and search for the missing half of the fabled true love locket which she believes may have made its way to America via Jamestown, Massachusetts. Once she arrives to Jamestown, Amelia keeps her business secret but is aided in her search by the local sheriff.

I found the story to be a little bit problematic and the ending even more so. But it was a lighter mystery and it was nice to see it involve a sampler, paint restoration and antiques. I might watch another, but it's not quite on my recommendation list.

Paul Newman plays the drifter Ben Quick, from the infamous barn burning Quicks. Young and hungry, Ben comes into a town where everything has one man's name on it Varner...specifically Will Varner played by Orson Welles.

Will Varner himself used to be young and hungry and sees something of himself in young Ben. So much so he strikes a few bargains with him...including offering up marriage with his only daughter Clara.

Clara is played by Paul Newman's real life wife Joanne Woodward, and the two definitely have chemistry. Clara, a school teacher, has been saving herself for a local mama's boy but then gets a little steamed up when Ben pokes the bear.

This is a quintessential southern story, complete with southern drawls, lemonade and wrap around porches. My favorite southerner was actually Agnes Stewart played by Sarah Marshall. It was fun to see Angela Lansbury as the great Varner's in town girlfriend Minnie. And the character Eula Varner played by Lee Remick was hilarious and lovely as only a vapid southern beauty could be.

Interesting southern family drama that Paul Newman fans will. It was a decent character study and should be on classic film fans' to see list.

"A good reason and a bad day, everyone is a murderer...you just have to meet the right person."-that made me laugh (probably wasn't supposed to be funny, but it did appeal to my dark sense of humor).

This is a darkly comedic short BBC series (season 1 has just four episodes) which combines season three of Professor T (the original Belgian series-with a brilliant imprisoned criminologist solving crimes) and the short Dutch series Lieve Mama (with an initial crime followed by bad decisions and a husband and wife cover-up).

Even though I did find it derivative of two tv series that I had just recently watched on Walter Presents, I still enjoyed this short run production and thanks to season one episode four's post credits' scene...I look forward to more. I love Stanley Tucci and have enjoyed David Tennant (he is still my favorite Dr. Who), both were perfectly cast in their roles as murder and potential murderer.

I think this is an enjoyable comedic thriller, that left enough questions on the table for a follow-up season. I think I would recommend this to fans of Professor T and fans of dark comedy who don't mind watching the cascading effects of poor decision making...and a vicar no less!

Standout acting all around, but I particularly enjoyed the performances of Kate Dickie, who played the questionable Morag and Dolly Wells, who played tutor and victim Janice Fife.

This felt very much like a school project...a Christian school project, and that is not a criticism per se but a commentary on the low budget production quality. My favorite part of this film was the side story of Micki's mom Toni going back to school, giving a fake name, having a crush on her teacher and him giving her famous names for pseudonyms. Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Betty White, etc. It added a fun charming note to the film and became my favorite part.

As for the main romantic storyline it was a bit cliched. Two student newspaper writers spar in print, fall in love in person, and then discover their true identities after a brief fake out. In the end they lean into their faith, start a clean slate and become friends. It was ok, but not a recommendation from me to my fellow romantics.

The Irish countryside and beautiful manor are really the best parts of this film. It's a romantic comedy, so the bar is set pretty low...but I would say this one is just middle of the road. One highlight was Jane Seymour...who was fantastic, as always, but very underused as Lyndsey Lohan's character's mother. I was quite confused as to why the Saint Brigitte character was wearing an East Indian Salwar Kameez? And while I appreciated the color that they added to the sets, it was particularly obvious that the flowers in the lily pond were fake, along with the flowers on the tree at the wishing bench, and flowers in the field. Is nature not beautiful enough? Does everything have to look like an animated Disney set like Bambi? I think the lush green countryside of Ireland is beautiful all by itself...it did make me wonder what James Joyce would have said to all the artificial enhancements.

The film was more surreal than real, but some like fantasy...it's not generally my thing, particularly in the realm of romantic comedies. I did like Ed Speleers in the romantic lead role, especially since he has been a lot of villains in works like Outlander, You and Downton Abbey. It was nice to see him be charming for a change.

Not quite a recommendation from me for my fellow romantics...unless you are big fans of the animated Disney Princess fantasy.

There can never be enough footage of big cats, in my opinion. This nature series focuses on capturing big cats in the wild and where it excels is in some rare footage using both moonlight and infrared cameras. The new technology does not mean that the camera crew wasn't met with challenges of their own, from large territories to tremendous speed to just sheer elusiveness, the big cats are always a challenge to capture in the wild. It was interesting to see how the industry of tourism and interaction with regular humans are impacting what we are now able to see and observe in the wild. The cats captured are tigers, snow leopards, lions, leopards, pumas, jaguars, and cheetahs.

The series may be light on the science, focusing more on certain hunting techniques while ignoring others. There is some never before seen footage that make the series completely worthwhile, for example Jaguars hunting sea turtles on a Costa Rican beach, a death defying plummet of a snow leopard with an ibex for prey, seven pumas sharing a kill, the inner city antics of leopards in Mumbai, and a night time hunting technique by a pride of lions involving a chaser and multiple catchers.

If you are a big cat fan like me, this series is not to be missed...so what if the narrator has difficulty pronouncing Montana. :)

Edward Everett Horton gets to not only play the lead Richard 'Dickie' Smith in this uproarious pre-code comedy but a dual part as the supporting character a famous theatrical impersonator named Zero. Dickie is a lawyer whose wife is out of town, for which he is trying to make the most of it as a ladies man. Unfortunately his mother-in-law Mrs. Mantel keeps foiling his plans...that is until the famous impersonator Zero shows up requesting to do Dickie in his act. Dickie agrees on one condition, that he play him convincingly overnight with his mother-in-law so he can meet two dolls out at a club. This plan is working out great till Dickie's wife surprises Zero by coming home early...and that is when all the hilarity ensues.

I love Edward Everett Horton, but the show stealer in this film is the Canadian actress Maude Eburne, who plays Mrs. Mantel the mother-in-law as she cleaverly tries to get herself some grandkids!

Cute by today's standards but very risqué for all it's pre-code innuendos. While not high on my list I still think classic film fans will enjoy this one. And the clothing is to die for!

I really enjoyed the Casa de Papel (Money Heist) series, but I can't say that I liked the character of Berlin. So, you might understand why I wasn't really eager for this series...but it did pleasantly surprised me primarily thanks to the supporting cast.

The series takes place chronologically before Casa de Papel, when Berlin himself has amassed a team to pull of a fairly elaborate heist of priceless jewels from a highly guarded vault before an auction. The plan is fairly well laid out, the team members each have their roles...and then Berlin himself puts it all in jeopardy when in becomes infatuated with the mark's wife while performing surveillance. It was unbelievably annoying and part of why I never liked the character of Berlin from the start.

I did however love some of the other romantic stories...like between Keila (Michelle Jenner) and Bruce (Joel Sánchez), Cameron (Begoña Vargas) and Roi (Julio Peña) and Damien(Tristán Ulloa) and his wife. I was thrilled to see Julio Peña outside of his roll of Ares Hidalgo in A Través de mi Ventana. This definitely was not Casa De Papel, it just didn't have the same levelheaded leadership...what do you expect when Berlin is the boss. The crew is almost entirely made up of young members who are also apt to make mistakes and rash decisions.

To recap, my expectations were very low as the series was built around a character that I already didn't like and I enjoyed it more than expected because I liked the supporting cast and as a romantic I loved the romantic intrigue between all but Berlin and Camille. I am not sure who I would recommend this to, but the production quality was as high as La Casa De Papel. It will be interesting to see if this gets green lit for a second season.

Review based on watching in it's original Spanish language with English subtitles.

Lucy Hale, who I discovered in "The Hating Game", is absolutely lovely...but plays the hot mess Jane in this film. Together with Nat Wolff, who plays Will, they make up the romantic duo which starts as a simple wedding guest hook-up...but quickly and somewhat awkwardly morphs into the potential for more.

These two are well suited for one another, Hale and Wolff, with excellent chemistry. The story is unusual for a romantic comedy, in fact it tells itself rather inside out. We learn about all of their past failed relationships...the why you wouldn't want to be in a relationship with either one, but at some point you start pulling for these two.

I am not going to say this is the most romantic film, but I think young people today might identify with their plight. While not on my recommendation list, I didn't hate it. I enjoy some of the dialogue and the idea of being brutally honest from the start.

I enjoyed the blind date with a book concept being added to this Hallmark romance starring When Calls The Heart's Erin Krakow and Robert Buckley from iZombie. I really like Robert Buckley, he seems so genuine in every role I have seen him play. He plays famous YA fantasy writer Graham Sterling. He owes his publisher book at of his famous YA series, only instead he has written a historical romance novel which his publisher not only doesn't want, but doesn't want his name even associated with. Determined to try this new genre, Graham self publishes his romance under a pseudonym and when he hears a public radio interview of a Nantucket bookstore owner who has combined her self cultivated "blind date with a book" books with a book club, he hightails it to Nantucket where he hopes to get her to choose his book for some honest and unbiased criticism.

This is a sweet slow build romance that highlights how people's love for books brings them together. I loved the concept and who could say no to Robert Buckley's sensational smile and charm? I wish there were more book clubs like this because I would absolutely join and I really like highlighting the importance of small independent bookstores for introducing smaller and lesser know authors...and just bringing people together over their love of books. This is a strong recommendation to fellow romantics, particularly book lovers and want to be writers. Positive, inspirational and romantic.

I love Theo James and tuned in strictly based on his starring role in this series...but I was even more pleasantly surprised to discover Guy Ritchie's touch. My family loves Guy Ritchie's work, particularly his "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"...in fact my parents still refer to themselves as a certain type of horticulturist. Having said that this series started in a classic Guy Ritchie fashion...so you either love it or hate it. He has a particular colorful high flash style, with violence and comedy.

Theo James plays Eddie Horniman, current U. N. soldier and soon to be Lord. He is sent home for the death of his father who passes over the eldest son Freddy to bestow the lordship on the more stable second son Eddie. It doesn't take long to discover why...and to discover where the Lord was getting large sums of money as we are introduced to Susie Glass.

There are some great characters in this series, highlighted by a dramatic pause and typeset appearing across the screen Ritchie style. The series is short at eight episodes and after the first couple it settles down into a bit of a pattern involving identifying a problem, coming up with a solution to a problem, then being thrown a curveball, then having to get out of an even bigger problem.

Flashy with good sets, costumes and music, I found the series highly enjoyable. It is loaded with comedy, but also drugs, foul language and lots of violence. I know it's not for everyone's tastes. However, If you are a big Guy Ritchie fan or a big Theo James fan, I can highly recommend the series.

I do like the unexpected and the chicken scene, which seemed to be going on an inordinately long time ends in an unexpected surprise...so I would like to say that I disliked the scene and that it was unnecessary...but then you would have missed the surprise.