This isn't the first time I've reviewed a Titanic film for Taking Up Room, or for a So Bad It's Good Blogathon (Remember that Asylum monstrosity where the Statue of Liberty was facing the wrong way? Or how about Raise the Titanic? Yikes.). It is, however, the first time I've reviewed a Titanic film with a dog that … Continue reading The Worst Titanic Movie Ever Made (So Far)
As It Happened
President Kennedy, I presume... The assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of those events that made such an impact, everyone who was alive and aware during that time remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about it. While there's no way to recreate that time exactly, the … Continue reading As It Happened
We’ve Been Here Before. More Than Once.
It's a busy week on Taking Up Room and off of it, because not only will we have a post almost every day this week, but it's Conference Week at one of the two schools I serve in my job. It happens every November, and things get crazy because the elementary and middle schools get … Continue reading We’ve Been Here Before. More Than Once.
Airing Dirty Laundry
Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters... The Ephron girls were told all their lives that everything is copy. Everything that seemed like a tragedy could be turned into a triumph in which the victim becomes the hero. They were to take notes in case something could be turned into the written word later. … Continue reading Airing Dirty Laundry
On the Road Again
Who's missing summer? I am but I'm not because working is nice. Still, vicarity is fun, especially with Labor Day upon us, and I decided to revisit 2006's RV, which I haven't seen in a lot of years. Because I'm me, though, and Taking Up Room is what it is, well...just wait. Bob Munro (Robin Williams) … Continue reading On the Road Again
My VR Will Go On
Birdemic is not James Nguyen's first movie. Oh heck, no. Seven years before that classic so-bad-it's-goodness came about, there was Julie and Jack. It's a romance. Yeah, that's it. The movie opens with footage of clouds. Lots of clouds. Two minutes of clouds. And then a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge and a guy driving … Continue reading My VR Will Go On
Welcome To Camp Knockoff
Ah, summer camp. Ah, movies that rip off movies about summer camp. Ah, movies that rip off movies about summer camp while also ripping off movies about singing, dancing high schoolers. And mean, snobby high schoolers who need to learn manners. Oh, and there's a big wakeboarding competition, too. Buckle up, campers, because we're about … Continue reading Welcome To Camp Knockoff
Austen Goes To Amritsar
*opens book* We all know that of Jane Austen's six novels, Pride and Prejudice is probably the most frequently adapted (see some of the other versions here). And why not? It's got lots of intrigue, it's got love and the promise of love, it's got family drama, and it's got biting wit and intelligence. Oh, and it … Continue reading Austen Goes To Amritsar
When MTV Does Sci-fi
Cue the ghosts of future past... MTV has turned out some pretty memorable movies but they're not always memorable for the same reasons. There's 2001's Save the Last Dance, with all its ballet-meets-hiphop coolness. There's 2004's Napoleon Dynamite with its endlessly quotable kitsch. There's the unbelievably low-key 2006 movie, Broken Bridges starring Toby Keith, Burt Reynolds, Kelly Preston … Continue reading When MTV Does Sci-fi
We’re All In This Together
I've heard things about Sunday School Musical, and when I found it on Tubi, curiousity got the better of me, not that there's much to ruin about the movie. Simply put, it is both a nostalgia hit and a train wreck, so averting the eyes is impossible, and anyway, it's an Asylum movie, so we … Continue reading We’re All In This Together
Go West, Young Canadian
Janette Oke is one of the premier contemporary authors of Christian literature, and as her novels are mostly set on the Canadian prairies Laura Ingalls Wilder would be her closest comparison. Oke's eight-book Love Comes Softly series has sold millions of copies and continues to be discovered and re-discovered by enthusiastic readers. Six of the … Continue reading Go West, Young Canadian
Spider Pig, Spider Pig
Ah, The Simpsons Movie. Remember the hype around this thing? It was going to be The Simpsons, only much, much bigger. Then there was the biggest (or smallest) dangling carrot of all...ahem, this is going to a very Freudian place. Moving on... My husband and I went to this movie a week after our son was born. … Continue reading Spider Pig, Spider Pig
Praising the Lord And Changing the World
I don't think there's another hymn that's as ubiquitous as "Amazing Grace." Everyone sings it, tons of musicians have covered it (here's one), and pretty much no one has a problem with it, whether they're Christian or not. What people might not know, though, is that the song was once the anthem of the abolition … Continue reading Praising the Lord And Changing the World
Stage To Screen: What A Girl Wants
When I heard that 2003's What A Girl Wants was based on a play, my first thought was, "Really?" For those who haven't seen it, the movie follows Daphne Reynolds (Amanda Bynes), who leads a rather bohemian existence with her mom, Libby (Kelly Preston) in a fifth-floor walkup in New York's Chinatown. Libby is a wedding … Continue reading Stage To Screen: What A Girl Wants
Who Are You Really, Frank?
It sounds funny nowadays, but there was a time when commercial pilots were treated like rockstars. Obviously it's always taken a lot of training and testing to become a pilot, but for Frank Abagnale it was a stepping stone. 2002's Catch Me If You Can tells some of his story, or at least it seems to, and … Continue reading Who Are You Really, Frank?
I Am Woman, Hear Me Quote RomComs
I'm middle-aged. I freely admit it. *ducks sheepishly behind laptop monitor* Seriously, though, the forties don't seem to be very different from the thirties, other than the looming spectre of menopause for women, and the decade can even have some perks. A lot of us forty-somethings feel more comfortable in our own skin and care … Continue reading I Am Woman, Hear Me Quote RomComs
Home Again, Naturally
I don't know about anyone else, but I've been listening to a lot of classic rock lately, and this radio station I hear driving to and from work plays all the good stuff. They also play Lynard Skynard, which of course means "Freebird," not to mention "Sweet Home Alabama," which I've had in my head … Continue reading Home Again, Naturally
Taking Up Room 