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Avalanche (1978), a review by GSyren

Title	Avalanche (736991-218895)
Director	Corey Allen
Actors	Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow, Robert Forster, Jeanette Nolan, Rick Moses
Produced	1978 in United States
Runtime	91 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	None
Overview	A winter wonderland becomes a nightmare of destruction, when an avalanche smashes into a ski resort. Now a holiday vacation will become a struggle for survival.
My thoughts
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on June 8th, 2014)

Vera Drake, a review by Antares

Vera Drake (2004) 80/100 - My rating for this film centers completely around the three main performances in the film, Imelda Staunton, Philip Davis and Daniels Mays, with Mays' performance being the best of the three. As for the story, I've read that there was no script and the actors improvised from an outline written by Leigh. Sure, this adds to the realism, but it also makes the story a bit light weight. The story meanders a bit too much in the beginning in terms of exposition, with an unnecessary subplot featuring Sally Hawkins, which is thrown in to juxtapose how the rich dealt with the same problem that Vera fixes for the poor. With all the saintliness that Leigh incorporates into Vera's character, I was surprised to find myself almost loathing her towards the end of the film. And it's because of the scene where a doctor tells the mother of the sick girl, that he treats dozens of girls, just like hers, because of the back alley abortionists. It made me wonder how uncaring, arrogant or stupid Vera truly is. She does her procedure and she's out the door, with only a brief smile and a "You'll be fine, Dear." How many girls wound up like Pamela Barnes after Vera's treatment? Vera doesn't know, because she never sees them again, and to that end, she is a danger to the community and needed to be stopped. I also would have liked to have seen some of the backlash that her family would deal with while she was in jail. It's a good film, but maybe there should have been a script to make it a bit more biting.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on April 25th, 2014)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Once and Again: Season One (1999/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Canada) Length: 990 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:Once And Again explored brave new territory with the compelling story of two families blending at the seams. The second marriage of Lily Manning (Ward) to Rick Sammler (Campbell) pushes both to the limit as they try for domestic normalcy while navigating divorce, parenting, financial hardship and many other life lessons.

From the creators of thirtysomething and My So-Called Life comes the complete first season DVD Collection. Enjoy all the moving moments and memorable performances of a brilliant supporting cast, including Shane West (A Walk To Remember) and Evan Rachel Wood (Practical Magic) once and again.


Once & Again
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Marshall Herskovitz (Story By), Edward Zwick (Story By)
Director: Marshall Herskovitz
Cast: Sela Ward (Lily Manning), Billy Campbell (Rick Sammler), Jeffrey Nordling (Jake Manning), Susanna Thompson (Karen Sammler), Shane West (Eli Sammler), Julia Whelan (Grace Manning), Evan Rachel Wood (Jessie Sammler), Meredith Deane (Zoe Manning), Todd Field (David Cassilli), Marin Hinkle (Judy Brooks), Kelly Coffield (Naomi), Kimberly McCullough (Jennifer), LaTanya Richardson (Counselor), Vanessa Lee Chester (Friend #1), Julie Marie Berman (Friend #2), Anna Mathias (Secretary), Suzanne Lanza (Assistant), Nicola Theodoropoulos (Soccer Coach), Jourdan Fremin (Laughing Mom)

I am still waiting for the third and last season of this great series to be released on DVD. The pilot is really good. I like how the two families are coming together and I think it is handled rather realistically. The two failed marriages are not necessarily one person's fault. Also the reaction of the children about this new relationship is handled well. I like all the actors here. All did a great job. Especially the child actors. Even the youngest (Meredith Deane) does a great job.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 17th, 2012)