that's not honey and molassas - that's just girl

Inconsistency is the name of the game these days. You have to endure some mediocrity in order to find the treasure!

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) - "The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His single-minded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unnecessary danger."
source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I have been wanting to see an array of Clark Gable's work, from the early to more recent, in every genre
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 100% Audience: 79%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "With all due respect to your rank, may I say I think you're an ass?"

MPAA rating: Approved (TV-PG)

directed by: Robert Wise

my notes: Second time seeing this, I appreciated the war scenes but not as much the acting side. It's a dialog-heavy film, the cast is all men, it's Black-and-White, and it takes place in a bleeping submarine - that means the perspective changes regularly and rapidly, and it can be hard to follow who's who, and what they're doing. Once again, though, the high points were Burt Lancaster as Bledsoe, and Jack Warden as Kraut Mueller.

first reviewed here
overall:  recommended

A Christmas Wish (2011) - "Martha Evans has been abandoned by her husband, who took all their cash and left her homeless and virtually destitute with her stepson and two daughters. Martha leaves town hoping to find a job and a place to stay, and she finally finds a job at a sleepy rural diner once famous for its homemade root beer. With her car broken down and the bills piling up, Christmas looks bleak for Martha and her family. But warm hearts are working behind the scenes that ultimate make this the happiest holiday of Martha's life."

source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: it got surprisingly good scores on review sites
IMDB: 6.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 60%
my IMDB: 4/10

notable quote: "'Do you know why most women would rather have beauty than brains?'

    'Why? '

    'Because most men can see better than they can think.'"

MPAA rating: Not Rated [TV-G]

directed by: Craig Clyde

my notes: this is not a good movie. They did an excellent job of making the child actors look like scruffy little ragamuffins, to the point that it's a little uncomfortable to see them. (Also an odd choice for the middle girl to have braces, since this family SO clearly could not afford orthodontia.) There is no heat between Martha and Joe despite his perpetual smoldering; Kristy Swanson, especially in destitute-diner-waitress-with-3-raggedy-kids mode, just ain't sexy. The high point here is Edward Herrmann as Les McCallum, who somehow manages to pull off the ridiculous junk he was given to play with gravity and aplomb.
overall: not  recommended

The Tall Men (1955) - "Two brothers, Ben and Clint, join a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. While heading for Texas they save Nella from the Indians, and she decides to ride with them. Ben and Nella start to get romantic, but Ben isn't ambitious enough for her, and she soon meets up with the boss of the cattle drive. Will she make the right choice—and, more importantly, will the cattle make it to Montana?"
source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: it's Clark!
IMDB: 6.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 78% Audience: 62%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "There goes the only man I ever respected. He's what every boy thinks he's going to be when he grows up and wishes he had been when he's an old man."

MPAA rating: Approved (TV-PG)

directed by: Raoul Walsh

my notes: Jane Russell is a surly harridan, and she had the prototype resting bitch face. She had a decent, albeit breathy and warbly, voice. Robert Ryan is quite good as the businessman Nathan Stark. This is not Gable's optimal role, but he pulls it off.
overall:  recommended

A Lot Like Christmas (2021) - "Jessica owns the most popular Christmas tree lot in Hudson Springs, but when big-city marketing executive Clay Moore moves a big box chain store into the area and starts selling trees, Jessica finds her business in jeopardy."
source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: it has a decent score on IMDB
IMDB: 6.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: N/A%
my IMDB: 1/10 DNF

MPAA rating: unknown

directed by: Stacey N. Harding

my notes: this is the worst Christmas movie I've ever seen, and right up in the running for the worst movie, ever. The entirety is as obvious and cringe-worthy as the title. There is one value to this, though--it gives me faith that anyone (and I mean literally anyone) can have their work published or produced.
overall: not even remotely recommended

[the title quotation is from The Tall Men]