Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

1. Do you tolerate, like, or love Westerns? I wuvs them, precious! :D (I mean, I don't watch/read a ton of new-to-me ones because of personal content concerns, but I love the ones that I do watch and enjoy very much indeed.) 2. What do you enjoy about them and, more broadly, the West? (Eg. the history, accompanying paraphernalia, etc)? I love that they're such a distinctive aesthetic.  I love their simplicity. I love the vistas of the American West to be found in them. While there's probably room for more female-centric Westerns, I do like that they tend to explore male dynamics in examining the dissonance between "healthy" masculinity and "toxic" masculinity.  While they don't always get that examination "right," necessarily ⎼ in that not every negative trait of every cowboy is presented as such ⎼ they do present interesting and worthwhile questions.  When is violence justified?  Can aggression be appropriat...

This is fairly self-explanatory. ;) {However, I will point out that, as usual, The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia don't make this list because they're kind of on this whole "other plane," in my mind, when it comes to fictional stories.  This list is for those movies that I watch regularly and am almost always in the mood for.  (And they're in no order. ;))} ✾ The Swan Princess ✾ How come? childhood nostalgia gorgeous animation SONGSSSSS <3 This Is My Idea :   "What if Odette doesn't go for the merger?"   "Urge her!!!" Far Longer than Forever No Fear , etc. CHARACTERSSSSSS <3 <3 Jean-Bob, Mr. Lorenzo Trudge-along ("Friends call me Speed"), Puffin, Odette, Derek (bless his heart), Uberta, Rothbart, Rogers . . .  also, for the record, those names ^^ witty lines "I'm gonna die; I knew it!  I'm on a mission with a lame turtle! " "You should write a boo...

( Emma's thoughts in brown and Olivia's thoughts in blue. ) So, you may know that Emma and I are very fond of a certain actor. We kind of talk about him a lot. In fact, this mutual interest was one of the reasons we got to know each other in the first place.  We discovered, through Emma's review of The Stars Fell on Henrietta , that we both really quite adored the man.  We tend to swoon a bit at the mention of his name, so we'll try not to get too fangirly (but we will likely fail). Yeah, you could say we really like him. Oh yes, and he has a name. It's Robert Duvall. His co-stars call him Bobby, so we do too. :-D One director who's worked with him termed him, "a first-class actor…an American institution," and Emma and I definitely agree with that!  (Well, as must anyone in full possession of their mental faculties.) I'm trying to think of what the first movie I ever saw Robert Duvall in was....I guess it must have been Lo...

Wow.  This movie.  I first watched it about a month ago, and loved it.  I finished it for the second time last night after showing it to my parents.  (It was even better the second time around.) Wow, just…wow.  It is amazing.  Truly, though, it is. I'll probably just be gushing about Tom  the awesome characters for this entire review, but…stay with me. The story is about a semi-estranged uncle and nephew, Prentice (Print) Ritter, played by Robert Duvall, and Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church).  On route to deliver a herd of horses, the two (and a friend they meet along the way, Heck Gilpin) encounter a sleazy slime ball (sorry.  that was just way too much fun to resist) who's been recruited to deliver five Chinese girls to a saloon in Idaho.  "Through a series of circumstances," as Tom says, they take the guardianship of these abused girls upon themselves, while still trying to carry through for their client.  Unbeknownst (for ...