Biopic time... Biopics are very common--we all know this. However, it's not often that the subject of a biopic actually stars in their own film. Joni Eareckson Tada is one of the few. 1979's Joni was based on her book of the same title and covers the first five years or so after Tada's life-changing accident. … Continue reading Joni Finds Her Feet
The Rest of the Movie
Happy Silent Movie Day! Anyone who's ever watched a documentary about film history, especially of MGM, has probably seen a shot of John Gilbert lunching with a group of his fellow stars. That clip comes from 1928's Show People, a fantastic Marion Davies vehicle that's beloved by film buffs and geek bait for historians. Peggy Pepper … Continue reading The Rest of the Movie
Earth In A Bottle
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the first Biosphere 2 crew entering their enclosure. It's also the twenty-eighth anniversary of the crew's exit from their enclosure. It's not often talked about today, but it's a fascinating story, and while I don't agree with all the motivations for the project, lately I've been reading and rereading … Continue reading Earth In A Bottle
Six Degrees of Sunshine
Yeah, we're back here again, and this time the nomination came from The Classic Movie Muse. Thank you so much--it's always an honor! For those of you who may not be familiar with the Sunshine Blogger Award, here are the rules: List the award’s official rules. Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog. Thank … Continue reading Six Degrees of Sunshine
My Favorite Lord of the Rings Character
Love it, like it, or not, it's pretty safe to say no one's indifferent to Lord of the Rings, and people are pretty precious about their favorite characters. Remember the uproar when Tom Bombadil was left out of the movies? It's still a slightly touchy subject because there are LOTR fans who are that committed. Me, … Continue reading My Favorite Lord of the Rings Character
Reading Rarities: What We Saw
Those who remember 9-11 will no doubt recall the huge demand for merch that immediately followed. The Longs Drugs I worked at during that time couldn't keep American flags, or anything flag-related, in the store. What we did get would sell out by the end of the day. Naturally, 9-11 books, magazines, and T-shirts were … Continue reading Reading Rarities: What We Saw
Anne Meets Mrs. Fanning
Hello, Ms. Bancroft... Anne Bancroft was, of course, a busy lady of both stage and screen, and every once in a while those two planes collided, such as in the BBC production of Paddy Chayefsky's The Mother. The play is set in the Bronx, New York in 1954 and deals with family, aging, and accepting reality. … Continue reading Anne Meets Mrs. Fanning
So Many Books
"Books are much more than an escape. They are a way of being fully human." So opens the 2020 documentary, The Booksellers, a Parker Posey-produced ode to the Holy Grails of the printed word, Rare Books, and the people who sell and collect them. Who else is a book person? You longtime "Room" readers know … Continue reading So Many Books
It Takes All Kinds
We all have unpopular opinions, and film is such a subjective topic that there's gonna be division somewhere (Last Jedi, anyone?). Ergo, the idea of coaxing a few secrets out into the open is fraught with intrigue. Here are two of my possibly unpopular opinions, and there are plenty more where these came from. *Impish … Continue reading It Takes All Kinds
You Will Not Forget This Date
It's hard to believe 9-11 happened twenty years ago today. How much has America changed since then? How much has the world changed since then? Look at us now. https://twitter.com/ian_mckelvey/status/1427608214024212485?s=20 Of course, on that bright Tuesday morning we had no way of predicting what was about to unfold. People went to work and school, got … Continue reading You Will Not Forget This Date
A Matter of Hormone Activity
Mr. Lawford's back... It's always nice to unearth a treasure or two in the movie blogging business, and it can be fun to find some turkeys, too. Then there are those movies that straddle both sides, like 1952's You For Me. A straight-ahead rom com, it's nothing if not ambitious. The tone of this movie is set … Continue reading A Matter of Hormone Activity
The Movie Is Drunk
My son seems to have caught the bad movie bug. He loves finding terrible stuff on Internet Archive and YouTube. Or Amazon Prime. He's not terribly picky, although my husband and I have taught him to avoid torrent sites like the plague. So yeah, I think I've created a monster, and one of his latest … Continue reading The Movie Is Drunk
Oz Goes Highland
Ye Scots, wha wish auld Scotland well! One of the most popular characters on the Christy TV show was, by far, Doctor Neil MacNeill, and one of the most popular show arcs was the triangle between Christy (Kellie Martin), Neil and preacher David Grantland (Randall Batinkoff). Neil was wonderfully played by Stuart Finlay-McLennan, who seemed to burr with the … Continue reading Oz Goes Highland
Stage To Screen: Our Town
Our Town is a perennial favorite for a lot of people all over the world. It's always being produced somewhere. Its setting, the fictional town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, even has its own website. This 1938 Pulitzer Prize winner follows the story of Emily Webb and George Gibbs, next door neighbors and childhood friends who … Continue reading Stage To Screen: Our Town
Taking Up Room 