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This Happy Breed, a review by Antares

This Happy Breed (1944) 75/100 - One of David Lean's early efforts as a director. The story spans about twenty years, and chronicles the day to day life of a middle class British family between the two World Wars. A bit of tragedy, smidgens of comedy and a lot of family squabbles that don't make for a riveting drama, but more of a curiosity in regards to Lean's early work. Celia Johnson, as usual, is fantastic as the matriarch of the family. Every emotion her character is feeling is effortlessly shown across what appears to be a weathered face. I mention her appearance because throughout the film, she looks rather haggard. Which is surprising when one looks at her in Lean's next film, Brief Encounter, playing a woman who is exuberant in an extramarital dalliance, and she just radiates. I don't know if it was good make up work or the fact that Johnson was one of the all time great actresses. One last thing, towards the end of the film, Robert Newton's character makes a statement about what happens to a house, when a family who has lived there for many years, moves out. How it retains the memories of that family forever. And it got me wondering about the home I now live in. My wife and I built this home 13 years ago, so we are the first to inhabit it. When we're both dead and gone, what will the family that purchases my home, be like? Will they be a happy family or will domestic strife be commonplace in their lives? Very rarely does a line of dialog make me ponder my own life, or what will be after I'm gone, but that bit of dialog did.

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 20th, 2014)

Day Watch, a review by Hal

Title: Dnevnoy dozor: Unrated
Year: 2006
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Rating: Unrated
Length: 146 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: Russian: DTS-HD High Resolution: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish

Stars:
Konstantin Khabensky
Maria Poroshina
Vladimir Menshov
Galina Tyunina
Victor Verzhbitsky

Plot:
In this thrilling sequel to Night Watch, only one thing stands between peace and Armageddon: the supernatural agents of Day Watch, who fight to control the armies of Light and Darkness. When the son of a senior Day Watch officer turns to the Darkness, incredible forces are unleashed....and the fate of the world hangs in the balance!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
D-Box

I probably should have read the overview before watching this, since I would have seen that this is a sequel to Nightwatch, which I've never watched, even though I do own it.
At any rate, I found this one a little hard to follow, probably due to concentrating on subtitles most of the time and I'm not sure the translation was the best, or either, they use phrases that have no equal in English.  Some hot looking babes and lots of "action" are about the only things really going for this film.

Rating:

(From Hal's 2010 Horror Marathon Reviews on October 6th, 2010)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Complete Series, a review by addicted2dvd

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Complete Series IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer/Intro | What goes on behind the scenes of a nationwide late-night comedy sketch show? Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, answers that question with a must-see show within a show filled with engaging characters, ear-grabbing dialogue and a Hollywood hive of insider buzz. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford portray the likable hotshots brought in to revive NBS-TV's sagging flagship comedy series and Amanda Peet plays their savvy boss in episodes exploring the lives and loves of and the make-or-break creative pressures on the show's staff. Panic. Chaos. Fear. Sleep deprivation. Just make sure it's funny by Friday. Because that's when a nation tunes in to Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. Episodes: 1. Pilot 2. The Cold Open 3. The Focus Group 4. The West Coast Delay 5. The Long Lead Story 6. The Wrap Party 7. Nevada Day, Part I 8. Nevada Day, Part II 9. The Option Period 10. B-12 11. The Christmas Show 12. Monday 13. The Harriet Dinner, Part I 14. The Harriet Dinner, Part II 15. The Friday Night Slaughter 16. 4AM Miracle 17. The Disaster Show 18. Breaking News 19. K&R, Part I 20. K&R, Part II 21. K&R, Part III 22. What Kind of Day Has It Been

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Stars:
Matthew Perry as Matt Albie
Amanda Peet as Jordan McDeere
Bradley Whitford as Danny Tripp
Steven Weber as Jack Rudolph
D. L. Hughley as Simon Stiles

Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Featurettes

This is a series I liked from the start when it originally aired. unfortunately NBC decided to cancel it after only 1 season. At least it was a full season. This series is a good combination of comedy and drama. I felt it really worked... and I liked all the characters. This is definitely a series I can easily recommend. I just wish there was more of it to watch.  For those of you that worry about it. Don't worry... the way they ended the season... there is no unresolved storylines. As the season finale also works well as a series finale. If you haven't yet... check it out. I don't think you will be sorry.



(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on November 9th, 2013)