Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

In honor of Liza Doolittle Day, a brief tribute to my beloved My Fair Lady . Because Y'AAALLLLLL.  This movie gives me literal life. It's bursting with color and showmanship.  There's a positively superfluous extravagance of outrageous costumes.  There's a gorgeous tribute to flowers in the midst of grimy urbanity.  It's one of those movies that you could watch dozens of times and never run out of new layers to uncover.  (How do I know this, you ask?  Experience, my dear, experience.) It's got one of the most immensely satisfying and fascinating relational dynamics I've ever seen: that of Eliza and Higgins.  Every time I watch it I find new insights into their relationship.  I love looking for hidden glances and subtle eyerolls and silent giggles.  I love watching Eliza's character develop and reveal her true identity as someone much more self-possessed and forceful than Higgins had bargained on dealing with.  I lov...

accurate representation of their relationship and the series as a whole Monarch of the Glen is an early-2000's TV show from the infamous BBC .  My parents and younger brother and I watched the show in its entirety last year, having previously watched a few seasons several years ago.  And we loved it. ☘ // Overview // ☘ It's about a dysfunctional but loving Scottish family (who all have inexplicably British accents) eking the last scraps of viability out of their family home, Glenbogle, a relict estate in the highlands.  The son and heir, Archie MacDonald, returns from his profitable culinary career in London to the old house after several years of semi-estrangement.  There he reconnects with his oddball parents and their three equally eccentric, loyal retainers.  Monarch is charming and funny and flawed (like pretty much any TV show ever).  Even when the makers make choices that could be termed interesting and are definitely frust...

A little over a month ago, I reread William Goldman's The Princess Bride ─ which is basically my favorite thing on planet Earth ─ and since everyone knows the movie but fewer people seem to have read (and enjoyed) the book, I wanted to share, out of context, some of the best one-liners from that magnificent tome.  I think we should all start using these quotes in our everyday conversation whenever possible. ;) ✾ "Madam, feel free to flee!" ✾ "God grant you your quota of smiles." ✾ "I myself am often surprised at life's little quirks." ✾ "Frankly, and I hope you won't be insulted, no." ✾ "I was, do I have to add, disheartened." ✾ "I mean if we even had a wheelbarrow, that would be something." ✾ "You're an enemy of art and I pity your ignorance." Enjoy! :) ⇣ (Also, this is a really funny parody of the movie adaptation.  Have fun.) ⇣

America's Sweethearts   (2001) This had some content that I wouldn't usually watch in a movie, but for some reason it didn't bother me too much in this one.  (I guess because, though I enjoyed parts of it, I wasn't very attached to it, so it's not like it really tainted something I was greatly appreciating, if that makes sense.) Hank Azaria was, as usual, a comedic gem; and I was mildly, pleasantly surprised by how the film took a couple clichés and spun them ever so slightly.  Beyond that, not one I would watch again. Forever My Girl   (2018) Oh, dear.  Bless. (It's just . . . pretty cliché, you know?  And there's not much new exploration of the story's tropes, so . . . I wasn't too impressed.  But it was sweet enough.) I Capture the Castle   (2003) Yes, dear friends mine, there is a movie adaptation of I Capture the Castle !  And it stars Romola Garai as Cassandra!  And Henry Cavill as Steven!  And lots of othe...

An idea for a new blog series came to me several months ago, and today I'm finally implementing it.   I don't know about you, but as much as I love music, it's extremely, extremely rare for me to find an album--be it pop, alternative, Christian, soundtrack, whatever--that I love in its entirety (or very close thereto). So when I do encounter one where I think, "Wow, every single one of these songs [or nearly every single one] is great and I love them all", it's a cause for much jubilation. Especially if that album stays appealing to me over a long period of time. And so, since a different kind of post is always nice to try, I thought it might be fun to occasionally "spotlight" one such album here on the blog: an album that is entirely or almost entirely Olivia-approved. The first album to receive the honor is Sarah Darling's Dream Country . Now, I'm not a big country person.  I'm really not.  However, this particular...