Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

The beautiful Ivy Miranda tagged me for this!  Thanks, Ivy. {Rules} - no lies allowed. if an answer is too shameful to expose you may substitute the answer with a gif/image of someone drinking tea. - there are optional bonus additions to questions but these are not for the faint of heart. - if you complete the tag having answered every question + the bonus additions (no gifs used), you are dubbed a certified tea chugger, and you deserve a badge to show the world that you are not afraid of a steaming hot cup of TRUTH. - tag at least one other person (a tea party with just one is not very fun. trust me.) untagged persons are more than welcome to fill it out as well (nothing cooler than crashing a tea party). {Questions} what is a 'bad' (generally disliked) movie that you actually love? The Phantom Menace , maybe?  I don't know if that one is generally disliked or just generally mocked (which, fair).  Either way, I enjoy it.  Some other candidates (except I won't conc...

I've toyed with the idea of fancasting more of the Narnia books for quite some time.  I've already shared my vision for The Magician's Nephew  (which you can read here ), and I'm (for the most part) satisfied with the Warner Bros. adaptations of TLTWATW, Prince Caspian , and TVOTDT.  But what about the three remaining Chronicles ?  What about them, pray?  Sure, The Silver Chair has technically already been adapted by the BBC, but — well.  "Perhaps, on this point, it will be as well to be silent."   (Actually, I quite like the BBC version of TSC, from what I remember.  "Laugh all you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion," and all that.  It's simple and cozy and faithful to the book.  However, I do think it's fair to say that we could do with an upgrade at this point. *ahem*) So!  Since I just reread all seven Chronicles this May, I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and make a dream cast for The Silver Chair ...

Well, well, well, if it isn't that time of year again. I'm joining forces once more with my partners in crime, Rachel and Heidi , to bring you the latest installment of our annual Western blog party, Legends of Western Cinema Week. This year, the party will run July 25-29.  There'll be a tag, reviews, probably a game or two, and who knows what else?  Also, we need you to contribute!  Any post idea you have that involves Westerns, we want to see it. This party always ensures that I watch at least a few Westerns a year, and I love it for that.  I also love the sense of community it evokes, as any good blog party should. 😉  Looking forward to celebrating all things Western with you! P.S.  Feel free to spread the word with one of these event buttons!  We want as many people as possible to participate. 😃 Are you excited about Legends of Western Cinema Week?

How's that for a provocative title, eh?  My teenaged self is prude-panicking right now, and it's all Kenneth Branagh's fault.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.   You see, it all started when I finally got around to watching the 1993 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing .  I'd been vaguely familiar with the film for years, of course, but had never actually sat down and tried it before.  I expected to enjoy it, but I had no other expectations for my viewing experience.  I certainly didn't expect to be as utterly entranced by it as I ended up being.  The enchantment started working early, probably about five minutes into the show.  As soon as those triumphal horns ushered in that sublime overture, I was hooked.  The flock of revelers descending from the picnicking hill in flutters of tousled curls and white linen, racing toward the house ahead of the delightfully macho Returning Heroes — well, I don't mind telling you, Jeeves, I was Stirred...

What-ho, all!  I come to you on this fine sunny Sunday just in time to squeeze in one more post for Cordy's Lovely Blog Party before it ends tomorrow.   I wanted to pay tribute to a special class of my favorite fictional couples:  my "comfort" couples, the ones who make me feel safe and happy and at home whenever they're onscreen.  The ones who make my face break out into a big sappy grin when they meet for the first time, because I know everything that's coming in their story and can't wait to watch it unfold again.  The ones who may not always be the absolute "deepest," but who soothe and entertain me nonetheless.  The ones who are just plain adorable, who are so extremely wholesome that they elicit grins and squeeps and covered-face glee simply by being their pure and charming selves. This list isn't exhaustive — there are several more couples I love who meet some or all of these criteria — but it's a start.  Here are just a few of the co...

To my great delight, Cordy has decided to bring her Lovely Blog Party back for another year, and you know what that means:  couples and sissy stuff and romance galore on ye olde  Rivendell .  Admittedly, I don't expect to contribute as many posts this year as I ordinarily would.  Blogging can still be extremely draining for me at the moment (I mean, rewarding, but draining), and it's been difficult to get pieces put together on a timely basis.  However, something is better than nothing, and I have what I hope will be an entertaining post for you today. You see, I'm finally doing it, mes amis.  I am giving the people what they want this Valentine's Day season. 😂  Which is to say, I am finally dedicating a full blog post to answering that juiciest, most tantalizing, most ubiquitous of questions:   Who are your fictional "dream guys"? I had already been thinking about making a post on this topic, but I was somewhat reluctant to do so, because,...

I usually find myself conflicted when I write these year-end posts.  (Don't we all, right?)  The problem with making top ten lists, for me, is that I often experience a sense of dissonance, torn between what I see as two different 'types' of candidates.  There are the stories that I think deserve a spot on their own merit, for their own technical excellence; and then there are the stories that I want to include because I personally enjoy  them so much, even if they aren't of the highest caliber. This year, I'm happy to report, that's not as much of a struggle!  2021 wasn't a great year for new-to-me movies, to be honest, but the silver lining there is that most of the films that  did stand out to me did so because they were both exceptionally well-made (in my opinion) and intensely satisfactory on a personal level.   Of course, there were exceptions:  films that were so good that I can't not  spotlight them, even if they weren't that "fu...