Hello there... Dwayne Johnson's time as The Rock is so far back it's pretty easy to memory hole it, but all of a sudden the guy was an actor instead of a WWF fighter, and one of the first instances of this was when he played the Scorpion King in the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies. In … Continue reading Spin Off With the Scorpion King
Chatting With the Oracle (Judy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies)
And here's our first post in the Club 15 Tier! Why is it called Club 15? Well, it's a reference to 2015, the year Taking Up Room began. All right, I hope you enjoy... We all have something resembling an Oracle in our lives, whether it's a flesh-and-blood person or something intangible. When everything feels … Continue reading Chatting With the Oracle (Judy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies)
Cooking With the French Chef: Chop Dinner In Half an Hour
Welcome back to Cooking With the French Chef, in which I review episodes of Julia Child’s original show, cook out of the new edition of the French Chef Cookbook and share the results with you. Past posts can be found here. School has probably started for everyone, right? It started over a month ago for me, and my … Continue reading Cooking With the French Chef: Chop Dinner In Half an Hour
We’re Back (In School)
Happy September! August was all too brief, but a wash in terms of movies. Well, mostly. At least it was a wash to the good side. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't believe summer's over. Well, I should rephrase that. Vacation is over, but the summer weather is still going strong. We're still getting … Continue reading We’re Back (In School)
Rachel Leigh Cook, Engineer
Stealing Paradise has been on my Amazon watchlist for so long that I can't remember how I found it or when I added it, but today is the day that I finally review it (All We Had, you're next). This 2012 TV movie is better than I thought it would be and not as good as I … Continue reading Rachel Leigh Cook, Engineer
Ward Cleaver, Confidence Man
OK. It's completely nuts to marry someone we've just met, right? Danged right it is. But that's what Julie Saunders does in 1948's Money Madness, a B-level indie thriller starring the future Ward Cleaver. No one seemed to have especially high hopes for this movie, but they gave it the old college try, anyway. The movie … Continue reading Ward Cleaver, Confidence Man
“McBain” Is A Real Movie. Not Good, But Real.
Remember McBain on The Simpsons? If not, here are some clips for context's sake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzjfrdcN1Z8 Yep. McBain is a pretty popular figure, but who knew that there's a real movie called McBain? And that it stars Christopher Walken? I sure didn't, but it's from 1991, was mostly straight to video, and is easily accessible on Tubi … Continue reading “McBain” Is A Real Movie. Not Good, But Real.
Good Cop, Not Cop
Ah, Poverty Row. And ah, Amazon Prime. Gotta love system algorithms, right? A bunch more Poverty Row movies have popped up in my Recs, and by "a bunch," I mean a virtual snow flurry. One of these is 1936's Step On It, which was filmed as programming for the then-burgeoning TV industry, and according to IMDb, the … Continue reading Good Cop, Not Cop
During World War Two: Coming Home
Peace is wonderful. Reality, not always. The end of the war obviously wasn't a matter of "See ya," and bolting, but a complicated business in more ways than one, both in the journey home and what waited when a serviceperson got there. Our fighting forces didn't all land on foreign soil overnight, and they wouldn't … Continue reading During World War Two: Coming Home
Who Is Robbie Going Out With?
Hello, Mr. Spelling... Who remembers 7th Heaven? This show ran from 1996 until 2007 and follows the lives of minister Eric Camden, his wife, Annie, and their seven children in Glenoak, California, and today we'll be looking at the "V-Day" episode, which was, appropriately enough, the fourteenth episode of Season Five and broadcast on February … Continue reading Who Is Robbie Going Out With?
Cooking With the French Chef: Paella Americaine
Welcome back to Cooking With the French Chef, in which I review episodes of Julia Child’s original show, cook out of the new edition of the French Chef Cookbook and share the results with you. Past posts can be found here. It's a little funny to see paella in what is supposedly a French cookbook, since paella is … Continue reading Cooking With the French Chef: Paella Americaine
Announcing the We Are Family Blogathon
Time for another blogathon! Yay. But first, a little story. The inspiration for this blogathon came about a couple of months ago when I was puttering around Amazon Prime and happened upon a 1934 movie called Lost In the Stratosphere. I couldn't figure out why the guy in the thumbnail looked so familiar until I … Continue reading Announcing the We Are Family Blogathon
You’re A Really Good Songwriter, John
A John Denver biopic? Far out! Oh, wait... Ah, biopics. As we all know, no one is really safe, especially musicians. Oh no. Songs and creative bursts make great filler, not to mention great fodder for montages. And we also all know that sometimes the results come out better than others. The 2000 TV movie, … Continue reading You’re A Really Good Songwriter, John
Yep, We Did Good
It's August. Yay? I can't believe I only have a week of vacay left. We didn't do much this year, because money, plus it was really hot this summer, but we did fit in some fun stuff. If anyone is reading on August first, especially if you're on Pacific Daylight Savings Time, I'm on a … Continue reading Yep, We Did Good
Frances Langford on Poverty Row
Frances Langford was one of the biggest stars in entertainment between the mid-thirties and the mid-fifties. During the World War Two era, she tirelessly entertained the troops, becoming almost a mascot of the Armed Forces. She did, however, find time to make some movies of varying quality, and on the lower end of the spectrum … Continue reading Frances Langford on Poverty Row
Hollywood Goes To Ferndale
Say what anyone will about Jim Carrey, in his heyday he made some fine films, and one of my favorites is 2001's The Majestic. It's not just a straight-ahead, old-school feel-good movie, but a lot of it was filmed in Ferndale, California, an absolutely gorgeous town in Humboldt County. The movie opens at a concept meeting, … Continue reading Hollywood Goes To Ferndale
More Sunshine, Friends
Funny things happen in the blogging world, especially when it comes to blogger awards and tags. Right after I finished my Sunshine Award post that Gill nominated me for, Ari from the Classic Movie Muse nominated me for another Sunshine Award. And Rachel from Hamlette's Soliloquy nominated me for one as well. Wow! Thank you, Ari … Continue reading More Sunshine, Friends
Taking Up Room 