Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

All Hamlette ever has to say are the words Christmas, movie, and tag in the same sentence and I'm there.   And, to make it even better, Katie actually tagged me!  Thanks, friends. ♥  Be sure to check out Hamlette's post for a full run-down on the deets of the tag.  #1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree ⎼ movie that involves agriculture Skylark , from the Sarah, Plain and Tall trilogy.  (Which, by the by, is something we should be talking about more.)  In this installment, in particular, the Whittings have to navigate the challenges of cultivating that wild land Out West.  And it's fairly stirring, what.  There are Meaningful Themes about needing to etch your name in the land to survive. The land, the land, the land. #2. Turtledoves ⎼ movie about a long-lasting relationship October Baby features a couple long-lasting relationships: Hannah and her lifelong best friend, Hannah and her dad . . . Fabulous movie, by the way. ♥ #3...

The inestimable Cordy over at Any Merry Little Thought is hosting another month-long blog party -- this time, devoted to classic movies!  As part of the kick-off, she posted one of her Would You Rather games, tailored to fit the theme.  So, today, I'm here to post my answers! :) Would you rather dance with Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly? Hmm, maybe Fred Astaire?  I haven't actually watched a ton of either of them, but I almost feel like Astaire's general persona might be more fun?  For me, personally?  But I don't know. Would you rather star opposite Cary Grant or Gregory Peck? HOW DARE YOU.  *carts them both away protectively* [But maybe Gregory.  For (very shallow) reasons.] (On the other hand, I really do like Cary, and working with him would probably be a blast.) Would you rather be serenaded by Howard Keel or Bing Crosby? Again, rude, but Howie is literally my jam, so, sorry, Bing. (Although tbh I'd rather not be serenad...

EDIT 08/2020:  I have excised parts of this review that reference/celebrate Howard Keel's performance as an Indigenous American.  I realize that it is inappropriate for white actors to play BIPOC characters, and I apologize for handling the issue inappropriately in my original viewing & review of the film. "Mine hit the ground first." "Mine was taller." -- Lomax and Taw -- Once upon a time, a lovely blogger called DKoren  reviewed a movie .  (Well.  That is to say.  She's done that lots, but this was a special instance I'm talking about here.)  She sparked my interest right off the bat by observing that it starred John Wayne (in case you didn't know, I have A Rather High Regard for the Duke). Time passed, and lo, the film showed up in my library's DVD collection.  You will be happy to know that I secured said DVD, carried it home, and watched it before any great amount of time had elapsed ;)  And I liked it just as much a...

*solemn voice*  Angels, the time has come.  My feelings will not be repressed; you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love this movie. Which movie, you ask?  Well, assuming, for the purpose of including cheesy and overdone preambles to reviews, that you did not actually see in the title of the post, I'm finally  here to review one of my favoritest of all favorite movies… Seven Brides for Seven Brothers !  And all the people said, "Amen."  (Heh.  Not.  In all probability, all the people groaned, "Lord in Heaven, spare us, we pray.") I'll be upfront about this right here and right now:  this movie is ridiculous.  It's silly and it's politically incorrect and there are multiple opportunities to say, "This is so wrong on so many levels," while watching it.  At least, that's the impression I've gotten from watching it with other people.  Me myself, however, well, I have to be honest.   This movie is on...

Hello, beauties!  I apologize for my slight absence recently--I was at the beach again.  It was fun (beach-combing is one of my new favorite things), but at the same time… Anyway!  While there, I suddenly got an idea for a post that I really liked ("People, I've had an epiphany!").  You guys probably know already that I have a bit of an obsession with musical theatre, particularly older musicals.  Y'see, the 1950s and '60s were the golden era of musical theatre, in my personal opinion.  (Also, I did a school project that involved researching musical theatre, and from what I read it seems that musical production was at its peak at that time, at least in America.  But I might have gotten that wrong, so feel free to correct me.)   I mean, think about all the famous musicals made in the '50s and '60s!   The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, The King and I, Showboat, The Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, Singin' in the Rain, An...

'Eeeeello, 'ello, 'ello, all!  So two of my awesome blogging buddies,  Bekah  and  Morgan , have both tagged me!  Let's get right down to it. Bekah's tag:  The 5 Things I Like About How God Made Me Tag RULES 1. List 5 things you like about how God made you (God made everything about you; the family you were born/adopted into, the fact that you enjoy the stuff you enjoy, your looks, your personality; everything. So, it can't be too hard to think of 5 things you love about how God made you. Right?) 2. Tagging other people/excepting a tag is optional 3. If you are tagged (and if you except), link back to the person who tagged you 4. Have fun! (The accompanying tag picture!) Okay, here goes.  (I'm sorta grasping at straws here, so please don't think I'm saying any of this in a bragging way!  I'm really not trying to do so.) 1.   My eyes (let's get the shallow stuff out of the way first, shall we?).  I frankly have a...

Howdy, people!  Welcome to the first joint post of Emma's and Olivia's, put together for Legends of Western Cinema Week!:D  *fanfare* Let's dive right in!  To make things simpler, Emma's thoughts will be in brown, and Olivia's thoughts will be in blue.   Other stuff will be in plain old black:) "What makes a Western?  It seems to me that it's not simply that it took place in the Western part of the United States, nor is it big hats and peacemakers and horses. I mean, all of those are elements, certainly, but what makes a Western a Western to me is that you lack the recourse of civilization to work out whatever the problem is, and therefore characters must work out the dilemmas for themselves."  ~ Walter Hill, director of Broken Trail Most people have a pretty good picture of what a 'classic' Western is supposed to look like. Cowboys, cattle drives, cavalry scouts, outlaws, and a healthy dose of family tension are what charact...