Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

Before we begin, a few notes: #1.  I purposefully decided to go with "heroes" instead of "cowboys" for the title of this post, because not all of these characters fit the "cowboy" job description.   #2.  I also decided to limit myself to one character per given show, hence why Print and Heck from Broken Trail or Vin from The Magnificent Seven don't make appearances. #3.  As usual, I'm none too confident in all of my picks for this list, nor in all of their rankings.  I knew of about six or seven characters who deserved the title "favorite," no question, but the well started to run a bit dry after that.  In other words, to be ruthlessly frank, I was rather scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to rounding out this list.  It's a stretch to call the first few characters in this post "favorites," but one does what one must for the sake of continuity. 😜 Now to it . . .  ⸻ #10.  Billy Hyatt The War Wagon (1967) "Won...

Happy New Year, friends!   2023 was really the year of Studio Ghibli, for me.  Not one, not two, but three Ghibli films made it onto my top ten list!  Exciting times. Most of the new-to-me movies I watched this year were pretty average; only a few blew me out of the water.  That said, this list was harder to narrow down than I thought it would be.  As usual, I'm not 100% satisfied with the finished product.  But such is life, and as it's already two weeks later than I'd have liked to publish this post, here we are. ⸻ #10.   Bill  (2015)  ● NR A young and ambitious Will Shakespeare leaves Stratford-upon-Avon for the bustling city of London, hoping for a haven of artistic possibility in which to pursue his newest dream of being an author.  Much to his surprise, he soon finds himself embroiled in a plot to kill Elizabeth I. Intentionally anachronistic dialogue and mannerisms set in historical contexts will never not tickle my fanc...

HELLO HI I'M VERY CONFLICTED.  Top ten lists are often difficult for me, but it feels especially wrong, this time, to exclude some of the characters I've excluded.  In an attempt to assuage my conscience, I've included a pool of honorable mentions at the end of the post, but still. In the end, I've had to console myself with the thought that these are just my ten favorites at this specific moment in time.  They may shift over time, and their rankings certainly do.  So, before you come for me for ranking one character ahead of another, just know that I'm probably even more upset and confused about it than you are.  I'm 100% confident of the #1 spot.  That's . . . that's about the only one, though. I've absolutely no more time to dither over this list, however, as today's the last day of the 2023 party, and if I don't get this post published this year, I shall be Quite Put Out. Forth, Eorlingas! ⸻ #10.  Eomer I've run out of time to wax loq...

First of all:  A gentle hug for all of those to whom this day brings more pain than joy.  For those who have lost children, for those who have lost fathers, for those who wish they could have a closer connection to their child or their father, for those who have been abused by their child or their father, for those who — for whatever reason at all — just have a complicated relationship with this day.   You are inexpressibly loved. ♥ Greetings, gremlins!  Having celebrated my favorite fictional mamas last month, I would be remiss if I didn't give The Boys™ the same treatment, wouldn't I? This list was actually harder to finalize than the last one, and I'm still not 100% satisfied with who made the final cut and who was relegated to the Honorable Mentions category, but we're gonna go with it.  The title promises "a few of my favorite fictional fathers," right? 😉 ⸻  ⸻  ⸻ ❀ Jacob Whitting ❀ Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991); Sarah, Plain and Tall:...

Happy turn-of-the-year to you all!  I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but one of my hopes for 2023 is that I will get back into the habit of blogging regularly.  Or, at least, of blogging more regularly than once every three to five months. *ahem*  I certainly can't guarantee that, either to myself or to any of you sweet souls still following this blog, but I can hope it and try to make it happen.  We'll see. At the very least, I can keep up this semi-tradition.  After due deliberation, I've selected the ten best films I watched for the first time in 2022.  ("Best," in this context, meaning "my personal favorite," of course.)  I've also ranked them, but the top five rankings are all pretty arbitrary because I really can't decide where each film should be placed.   Let's dive in! ⸻ #10.   Game Night (2018) A couple's weekly game night with their friends takes a wild turn when a fake murder mystery becomes indistinguishabl...