Ah, Numero Dos. Again, for those of you who are new to the Shamedown thing, please see Cinema Shame for the whys and wherefores. Everyone has a guilty pleasure, and one of mine happens to be Bridget Jones. Sometimes. Normally, R-ratings are a turnoff, but I'll make an exception now and then, and Bridget has grown on … Continue reading Shamedown #2: Bridget Jones’s Baby
Announcing the Broadway Bound Blogathon!
Yep. This is big. Really big. First, I've never hosted a blogathon before, and second, the Great White Way has been the pinnacle of so many performers' careers for almost one-hundred fifty years. I know I delve into Broadway at least every other month on Taking Up Room, but it's such a massive subject that I wanted … Continue reading Announcing the Broadway Bound Blogathon!
They Really Lived
We're still in Texas, only our hero now has the accent and a shotgun on his knee. I give you Michael Caine in 2003's Secondhand Lions. The film opens with two old men flying a biplane around a wide stretch of Texas prairie. Actually, it's more like joyriding than flying. They even barnstorm an overpass … Continue reading They Really Lived
Victor’s Pageant Tips
The man, the myth, the legend... Michael Caine is nothing if not versatile, and among his many memorable roles, he played pageant consultant Victor Melling in 2000's Miss Congeniality. The film, of course, revolves around FBI agent Grace Hart (Sandra Bullock), who is as rough around the edges as they come. She dresses like a man. … Continue reading Victor’s Pageant Tips
Taking a Leap
There's one thing that pretty much all time travel films have in common: Gadgetry. Whenever characters hop across time periods, they step into a car, or a phone booth, or turn a dial on a necklace...you get my point. There's always a vehicle by which they travel. It's very few films that have time travel … Continue reading Taking a Leap
Whales of Star Trek
The time, it must be traveled. Little side note: Because Star Trek is so well-known, I won't be including the names of the principal cast. Supporting actors are a different story, though. Although I like Star Trek, I'm not a Trekkie by any stretch of the imagination. Or maybe I am--I've seen most of the movies, and … Continue reading Whales of Star Trek
Origins: A Wrinkle In Time
Every once in a while, Hollywood seems to turn out something promising, and the upcoming A Wrinkle In Time looks to be one of those. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, and Zack Galifinakis, with Storm Reid as Meg, the film is, of course, based on Madeleine L'Engle's superlative novel. I read the book … Continue reading Origins: A Wrinkle In Time
Stage To Screen: Romeo And Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's most infamous play. Even those who don't know much about Shakespeare know its elements. The balcony scene, for one thing (which is a window in the original script, by the way), has been parodied and referenced more times than anyone can count--everyone from Bugs Bunny to school drama teams to … Continue reading Stage To Screen: Romeo And Juliet
Close Quarters
Today we've got a free-for-all movie for CineMaven's Free For All Blogathon, and it's a doozy. We're back in Washington D.C., people. The war is still on, folks are still crammed into the city like sardines, and there's more craziness to be had. Only instead of an apartment building, we're checking in at the fanciest … Continue reading Close Quarters
Taking Up Room 