Nine Years (and some change) Ago: Movies Meet Their Match + The 30 Song Tag

Hello, friends!

It turns out when one goes on a European vacation in July one forgets about one's blogoversary, which was on July 19th, 2025. As of today it turns out that I've been blogging now for 9 years and about 2 months. 

!!!!!!!!!

Me to myself when I realized I was late.

This is a late edition of my usual yearly summary, so kick back and enjoy the feast of gifs I have in store for you! It's time to celebrate!

Stats:

Followers: 77! You faithful readers mean so much to me!

 All time page views: 457,845! I could thank you guys over and over again, but it can't express how much I appreciate you all reading my silly ramblings.

For once Carmelita and I are in agreement.

Posts: 532, with this being the 533rd!

Top 3 most popular posts:

1. Older vs. Newer Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

2. Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

3. Book vs. Movie Review: The Summer of the Monkeys

I don't know why those are the favorites, but I'm glad those posts are enjoyed!

My 5 current favorite posts:

1. All My Sons // 10 (+1) More Fictional Boys I Have Adopted

2. Various Family Dynamics // Lemony Snicket's centrality of siblings in stories

3. The Running Wild in Impractical Outfits Tag // Seeing If I Have Any Sense of Style

4. 5 Lessons From Cosmo Brown on How to Be the Perfect Best Friend

5. august slipped away and my tears ricochet // // My Top 10 Fan Videos feat. Taylor Swift Songs

Changes/YouTube videos:

I got one more movie review up since last year: The Breakfast Club (1985). I've decided for now that I'm not going to be doing number ratings, but just talk about what benefits I saw from the movie. I hope to get some more book reviews up in the coming year!

As for my YouTube channel, I've been a bit more successful! Which means I've put up 2 videos:

   Flowers in Your Hair // Enola and Tewksbury (Enola Holmes 1 & 2)

Life in Pink // Barbie (Barbie)

Currently about me:

I am reading: Scaramouche - by Raphael Sabatini.

I am listening to (audiobook): Betsy-Tacy - by Maud Hart Lovelace

I am watching: Leverage. I know, I say this almost every year, but the fact is that I'm scared to finish it because I LOVE IT so much.

I am rewatching: A Series of Unfortunate Events, season 2. If you think this is why I have so many gifs from there, you are correct. 

5 Favorite books:

1. All the Crooked Saints - by Maggie Stiefvater 

2. Anne of the Island - by L. M. Montgomery

3. Anne of Green Gables - by L. M. Montgomery

4. Holes - by Louis Sachar

5. Pride and Prejudice - by Jane Austen (this and North & South are always fighting over which I like better.)

5 Favorite movies:

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1947)

2. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

3. Rope (1948)

4. This Beautiful Fantastic (2017)

5. Amazing Grace (2006)

I already talked about this, but I started a Letterboxd account and I am obsessed.

What happens when I talk about my favorite stories.

Favorite TV show:

1. Hotel del Luna (as I've raved about, this is peak cinema)

2. Leverage (Eliot, Parker, Hardison, Sophie, and Nate for the win)

3. Robin Hood BBC (my OUTLAWS! <3)

4. Once Upon a Time (Have I finished this? No. Do I dream of it constantly? Yes)

5. Geek Girl (I just read the book for the first time and it made me love the show EVEN MORE which I didn't think was possible.)

The 30 Songs Tag:

How I usually feel about answering inquiries, but as we're celebrating I'll make an exception.

YEARS AGO (as in 2020) I was tagged by McKayla for The 30 Songs Tag. This seems like as good of a time as ever to jam out.

When McKayla tagged me she had gotten creative and only answered with songs from musicals. Inspired by her, my catch for this post is that I'll be filling out these questions just using songs from movies and TV! I don’t mean anything that is a Broadway musical, but something that originated on screen. There may be a few on here that became Broadway hits but only because they were such fan favorites beforehand.

In case you want to listen along, I've embedded a playlist with all these songs! I couldn't get the Spotify version to work, so YouTube will do.

1. Your favorite song?

And already I regret life choices. I choose my niche to be songs from all of TV and film and then I’m asked for the top favorite. What I’ve been doing with “favorite” questions to avoid an existential crisis is to say my CURRENT favorite, not my all time favorite. For current favorite, I’ve been jamming out to “My Sails are Set” by AURORA from—you may have guessed it based on all these gifs—the live-action TV show One Piece.

Should Sanji be my favorite? I don't know, but he is. The dork.

2. Your least favorite song?

Instead of one song I’m going to say a whole “album,” because I hardly liked any of the songs from Descendants 3 (2019). Which is a bummer because, as a huge fan of the first two movies, I was looking forward to this SO MUCH back in 2019.

3. A Song That Makes You Happy?

It’s a little ridiculous how happy I get when I hear “Determinate” from Lemonade Mouth (2011). I remember hearing it a lot when it came out and thinking that it was weird. Then in 2020 I watched the movie and LOVED IT. Now I can’t be upset in any way while listening to that song.

4. A Song That Makes You Sad?

“Never Forget” sung by Michelle Pfeiffer from the credits of Murder on the Orient Express (2017). It is a gut punch in song form if I’ve ever heard one.

How I imagine this songs warms up for wrecking emotional damage on my heart.

5. A Song That You Often Get Stuck in Your Head?

SO MANY. I’m very susceptible to song cues. One that always surprises me is “Something That I Want” from the credits of Tangled (2010).

6. A Song That Reminds You of Someone?

It’s been a few years since I raved about Julie and the Phantoms, but those of you who have been around for a while are probably not surprised that I brought it up again. “This Band is Back” reminds me of my sisters and I love to play it whenever we’re all together.

7. A Song That Reminds You of Someplace?

When I hear "Let’s Go Make a Memory" from A Week Away (2021) I am immediately transported to driving down dirt roads with my sister in the summertime. My sister does not like that movie but it doesn’t stop us from jamming out.

(Editing Chloe is realizing how many times she uses the phrase "jamming out" and apologizes but knows if she don't publish this post now she wont' ever)

8. A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event?

"The Other Side" from The Greatest Showman (2017) reminds me of the time that a friend and I performed it for karaoke. *dies from embarrassment* I’m just such a horrible singer, guys.

9. A Song You Know All the Words to?

I am notorious for not knowing the words to songs.

Source: Legit me, guys

However, back in 2015 I thought I was the coolest person ever to be listening to Liv and Maddie songs on my iPod. I especially loved rocking out to “You, Me and the Beat” and “Say Hey.” I just listened to them again, and yep, I somehow still know all the words. 

10. A Song You Could Dance to?

If you watch me closely while I’m listening to “When Can I See You Again?” by Owl City, from Wreck it Ralph (2014), I will in fact do a little kick when the word “sidekick” is said. 

And “Better When I’m Dancing” by Megan Trainor from The Peanuts Movie (2015) is pretty self-explanatory. I just looked up when that movie came out because I was thinking it was around 2018, but NO. 2015?? A decade?? I'm old.

Me being happy-go-lucky then being forced to come to grips with my age.

11. A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep?

Admittedly most of the songs on my lullaby playlist are from movies. The first I always go to is “If I Had Words - Version Two” from Babe (1995). 

12. A Song From Your Favorite Band?

“The Line” by Twenty One Pilots which is in the show Arcane: League of Legends. It may come as a surprise but I don’t actually listen to songs from movies non-stop; I’m almost alway jamming out to Twenty One Pilots 24/7. I was SO STOKED around a year ago when I heard that TØP was going to have a song in the show because the music from the first season SLAPPED but when I first heard it I wasn’t really a fan. Fast forward to me listening to it all last semester, and I am now a huge fan.

AND TØP JUST RELEASED A NEW ALBUM TODAY. ACK. EEEP.

13. A Song From A Band You Hate?

I don’t think I hate this band, but based on how you can never find me listening to country music, I would probably not be able to handle the Zac Brown Band. But I love their version of “From Now On” from the Greatest Showman Reimagined album.

(Update: I just learned that the Zac Brown Band is responsible for the monstrosity that is "Chicken Fried" so yes, this is a good answer to this question because I hate that song. They have one winner with me)

Me whenever that chicken dance of a song comes on.

14. A Song Nobody Would Expect You to Love?

“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King (1994). Growing up I was the kid who always rolled my eyes or stuck my tongue out when there was any kind of romance plot. Therefore my sisters are shocked that I love this song. It’s always in my top for Disney songs which surprises everyone who knows me.

15. A Song That Describes You?

Going through my “Describing Me” playlist (yes, such a creative title), I realize the mix is eclectic to say the least. I’m going to say “Zero” by Imagine Dragons from Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) because even though I didn’t like that movie, one of the reasons I didn’t like it is because I related TOO HARD. It also has the double meaning of me being obsessed with math so I have to choose a song that is a number.

And I’m pretty sure I’ve said this somewhere on the blog before, but as the middle sister I relate hardcore to “Surface Pressure” from Encanto (2021). I know, I’m basic.

16. An Underrated Song More People Should Love?

This song is not technically from a movie, but it’s inspired by a movie, so I can break my own rules. “When I Was Older” by Billie Eilish is inspired by the film Roma (2018) and while that film isn’t in my favorites (if you want to know what my favorite hispanic films are, I made a list a while back HERE), the song definitely has all my love. It’s SUCH A VIBE. Yet neither Billie Eilish fans yet nor people who have seen Roma seem to know about it??

Me asking you guys to all love this song, too, after my SUPER convincing argument.

17. A Song That You Hear Often on the Radio

I remember when Encanto (2021) came out they were playing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” everywhere but I always covered my ears because I hadn’t seen Encanto yet and didn’t want it to be spoiled. When my boss and I were driving around the other day I’m pretty sure every time I glanced at the radio it was a song from K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025), but we didn’t have the volume on. Again, I don’t want spoilers so I’ll listen to it once I’ve seen the movie!

18. A Song You Wish You Heard on the Radio

Okay, I also remember when “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie (2023) was everywhere, but I also find “Man I Am” by Sam Smith from the same movie to be a BOP and think it would be fun to have that as a contrast on the radio.

19. A Song You Listen to When You're Happy

The first time I finished NaNoWriMo I was so stoked I put on “Don’t Give Up on Me” by Andy Grammar and was screaming it at the top of my lungs out of joy. I understand that it’s an odd choice based on it being from an acclaimed sob sack of a movie, but I haven’t actually seen Five Feet Apart (2019)…

20. A Song You Listen to When You're Sad

“The Call” by Regina Spektor from Prince Caspian (2008). *cue the sobbing*

21. A Song You Listen To When You're Angry?

One of my first that I go to is “On My Own” not from Les Mis but from Teen Beach 2 (2015). Something about way all the instruments hit just scratches the itch and calms me enough so I don’t want to punch everything.

Feat. Zoro also chilling instead of fighting.

22. A Song You Want to Play at Your Wedding

I’ve never considered this, folks. XD For party vibes, I absolutely love “My Romeo” by Jessi from Cinderella and the Four Knights. Everyone would be confused because it’s almost all in Korean. The vibes are on fire!

23. A Song You Want to Play at Your Funeral

“Carried Me With You” by Brandi Carlile from the movie Onward (2020). It’s about family connection and ACK it’s gorgeous. This is my reminder that I should listen to more Brandi Carlile because I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from her so far.

24. A Song That Makes You Laugh

When I started watching A Series of Unfortunate Events my intent was to make fun of it. Then the song “It’s the Count” made me laugh like crazy and I finally understood the humor that the show is conveying. And look at me now, I’m such a fan, I keep putting gifs from the show into my blog posts.

25. A Song That You Can Play

Even though both songs are on the piano, the character Nini plays ukulele so it feels appropriate that I can play “The Rose Song” and “Wondering” from High School Musical The Musical The Series on my ukulele. Now I just need to find a key for "The Rose Song" where I sound half decent.

26. A Song You Wish You Could Play

I can’t tell you guys how many times I’ve tried to play “Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home” performed by Keira Knightley and Hailee Steinfeld from Begin Again (2012). The problem is, I’m on my ukulele so I don’t get the epic electric guitar. *sigh* It just never sounds as cool.

27. A Song From Your Childhood

My sisters and I had a collection of Disney Box Office Hits and I’m amazed that the CD somehow survived my childhood based on how much we played it. My favorite from there was probably “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson that was in Princess Diaries 2 (2004). I also really loved “I Thought I Lost You” from Bolt (2008).

We'll pretend this is what I looked like as a wee one listening to these songs.

28. Your Favorite Duet

To be clear, I don’t like the version of “You’re Welcome” from Moana (2016) that is usually played. I am, however, the biggest fan of the version with both Jordan Fisher and Lin-Manuel Miranda. I love it so much, it’s probably unhealthy.

29. Your Favorite Song at this Time Last Year

Audrey Hepburn’s “Moon River” had been hyped up a lot and I found it to be lovelier than I thought it was going to be. July 2024 I finally watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)!

30. A Song From Your Favorite Album

I’ve been trying to use a different movie/TV show for each question and I should’ve planned this better so I could say Julie and the Phantoms. Another couple of albums that I listen to a LOT (which I’m saying would qualify for “favorite album” in this context of movies and TV shows) is the soundtrack to The Book of Life (2014) and Home (2015). My favorite songs off of each of those are probably “I Love You Too Much” (and the accompanying version in Spanish, “Te Amo y Más”) and “Towards the Sun” respectively.

*is still humming “Something That I Want”*

Thank you so much for reading this blog! I can't believe that I have an archive that is 9 years old now! Even though my posts have been sporadic these last few years I'm now no longer in college! My high hopes are to get back into the rhythm of writing and answering comments. Because comments are my favorite thing EVER! 

So tell me: how many of these songs do you know? Have I now infected anyone else with "Something That I Want"? Has anyone else seen the live action One Piece or A Series of Unfortunate Events? 

See you guys! 

Chloe the MovieCritic

The Legends of Western Cinema Week 2025 Tag // where I pretend that I watch enough westerns to know what I'm talking about

Howdy, "pardners"! 

Buckle up, as today is the last day of Legends of Western Cinema Week, hosted by Hamlette, Heidi, and Olivia! These gals have hosted this a score of times over the last few years and it's exciting to see their continued knowledge of the genre!

I'm dropping in to fill out the tag because it's been a couple years since I last did, and I figured that I'd probably seen more western movies to increase my participation. Turns out I have seen...1 more western. I am clearly not doing this genre justice. This is not entirely for a lack of trying because for our last family movie night, I came up with eight (8) options, all of which were westerns, and my dad didn't like any of them and instead came up with his own choice. According to my calculations, I've seen about 39, so that should be sufficient to answer these 10 questions!

Cliff -- a tense cliffhanger: 

It's been YEARS since I watched it, but I remember everything falling apart and then ending in Dances with Wolves (1990). Good times. Definitely didn't scar me. *eye twitch*

Gulch -- a cool ambush scene: 

The Magnificent Seven (1960) is all about staging an ambush to protect a small town from the local outlaw oppressors.

Canyon -- a big gunfight: 

I remember being impressed with the gunfight scene in The Man From Laramie (1955), but I remember nothing else about it. Besides that it was maybe a one-on-one, so one couldn't call it a BIG gunfight.

The biggest gunfight I can think of is in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1972). They also talk about the skill because "I'm better when I move."

Mountains -- high stakes: 

Back to the Future Part III (1990). It's high stakes because due to time travel one possible future is known and the characters are trying to prevent that. So all Marty has to do is stay out of trouble...but that's not really his strong suit as he hates to back down from a fight. What with knowing his character tendencies from the last two movies as well as possible futures, the stakes are as high as you can get.

Valley -- a beautiful romance: 

While it's probably a basic answer, I'll say The Man From Snowy River (1982). I love Jim Craig so of course Jessica, the daughter of Jim's boss, also fancies him.

Desert -- a suspenseful plot: 

The original True Grit (1969) claims this spot. Rooster Cogburn, Ranger La Boeuf, and Mattie Ross are trying to catch the man who killed Mattie's father. They're hot on the trail yet there's suspense of whether they'll catch him or if this is a wasted journey. And not to mention that final scene which throws all the more complications into the suspense.

Forest -- themes about renewal: 

The Big Trees (1952)? This is maybe not quite a western and I didn't really like it, but hey, it's what I've got. The film features a lumber company that is cutting down the trees that California is famous for and it is about the conflict of the people who live there and love the trees. If I recall correctly, there's some rhetoric about using the lumber for new things vs. how the new things will have no purpose if the land is destroyed. I'm not a Kirk Douglas fan though I did find it hilarious that someone named Douglas---like Douglas firs---was in a movie about trees. And it goes with the prompt "Forest."

River -- traveling to a new home: 

This is kind of lacking on the traveling part, but Ransom Stoddard is trying to set up a new life and a law practice in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and we see him arrive to town because that's right when everything starts going wrong. Those bothersome stage robbers...

Plains -- characters who are farmers: 

In Home on the Range (2004), the cows are trying to save the Pearl's dairy farm "Patch of Heaven." This was one of my favorite movies when I was little. We had this little mobile player that you could put DVDs in and my sisters would get tired of watching Home on the Range so I'd just watch it by myself on that tiny screen.

Mesa -- an animal central to the story: 

While the last answer also fit this category, I'm going to put my most recently watched Western here: The Rare Breed (1966). It features a lot of ranching, most prominently the sale of the adorable Vindicator. While ranchers are plotting and making deals they start to wonder which is feistier: Vindicator, or the mother-daughter duo who owns him.

Those are my answers! Make sure to check out the master posts HERE, HERE, and HERE for the links to all the other tag answers, giveaways, games, and more!

Thanks to Hamlette, Heidi, and Olivia for hosting this again! I love the challenge to try to watch more westerns and I hope to have a few more under my belt by the next time this roles around.

Thanks to all of you for reading! Have you seen any of these movies? What are some western suggestions for me? Does anyone here love the suspense of True Grit? Is anyone surprised that I mentioned not one or two but THREE Jimmy Stewart movies? Is there anything that you're better at if you move? 

Happy trails!

Chloe the MovieCritic

Inklings // July and August 2025

Hello, friends!

This post has twice the fun for Heidi's monthly Inklings because I'm posting my answers to the prompts for both July and August. I'm late for July because I was gone for most of the month, but as the prompt is one of my absolute favorite things, of course I want to be able to ramble about it. 

How it works:

1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back to Heidi's blog in your post.

2. Make sure to come back and leave a link to your entry in the box on that month's post.

HERE are my previous entries; this is one of my favorite link-ups!

July 2025 prompt: 

A sword dueling scene in book or film

Link to the other July entries HERE.

Sword duels are essential to swashbuckling films and I love swashbuckling to my CORE. I would say it's my favorite genre but I don't think I've watched enough to count. But I definitely count The Son of Monte Cristo (1940), which has all kinds of delicious dueling.

There are a couple of scenes here to fulfill the dueling requirement, so I'll just choose the first one, which starts with some formalities.

"Who are you?"

*brandishes sword* "My friend here will introduce me!"

"Don't worry, my father was the best swordsman in France!"

The sword fight even gets some action on the stairs (with someone rolling down them in style!). I can't find images from it, so you'll have to go enjoy the scene yourself. Which is very easy to do as this movie is in the public domain!

I started rewatching The Son of Monte Cristo just to watch the swashbuckling bits while writing up this post, but now of course I'm going to watch the rest of it. This used to be my 4th favorite movie of all time and I would say that I could watch it on repeat and never get tired of it. While it's not in my tippy top favorites anymore, I still adore this movie despite the rest of my family thinking I'm crazy. It just scratches a particular itch that I have when it comes to stories.

Now that I've watched it again I'm going to have to say it's back up into my tippy top favorites. It's dorky but it's dorky in my kind of way.

August 2025 prompt: 

A bread-making scene in book or film

Link to the other August entries HERE.

My choice is from the film Support Your Local Sheriff (1969). Prudy is one of my favorite characters and I relate to her based on how many unexpected situations she finds herself in. One of which completes this prompt. 

Let's just say it's full contact baking.

Which leads to fire...

...and frustration because why do these things keep happening to her??

Which is usually how my cooking turns out, too. Just now I'm sporting a cut from doing the dishes, so you can imagine what happens when I get close to the stove.

Me answering this prompt in this way has a second motive because Support Your Local Sheriff is my favorite western and currently Heidi, Olivia, and Rachel (Hamlette) are currently hosting Legends of Western Cinema Week! Go to any of these posts to join the fun: Along the Brandywine, Meanwhile in Rivendell..., and Hamlette's Soliloquy. 

What are movies that scratch an itch for you? What's an ingredient (such as a sword fight) that makes you love a story? How are you when it comes to baking (i.e. how much flour ends up in your face and hair)?

Thanks for reading!

Chloe the MovieCritic