Rambling Film

The Golden Globe nominations are upon us! Honestly, I forgot these were being announced today, so this was a nice surprise. Speaking of which, I was surprised by a lot of their choices. Below are a list of nominees, and as always my thoughts.  BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA Frankenstein Hamnet It Was Just an Accident The Secret Agent Sentimental Value Sinners The Secret Agent seems to be surging more and more. I'm going to see Hamnet later today, Sinners is my clear favorite for what I have seen.  BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY Blue Moon Bugonia Marty Supreme No Other Choice Nouvelle Vague One Battle After Another I wasn't entirely sure where they'd put One Battle After Another because it could go either way. I'm sure it will be an easy win here. The biggest shocker to me is Wicked II not making it. Not because it's amazing, but because it's very "globes"  I also didn't realize No Other Choice was a comedy, but it's nice to see more foreign...

I'm back with a quick recap of what I've been catching up with on the small screen! Stranger Things Season 5 (part 1) Frankly, I think releasing season 5 in 3 parts is stupid on Netflix's part, but I get why they want to draw this show's final season out. We've been waiting for this for a LONG time. The first four episodes were very action packed, and they end with a pretty big cliffhanger, though it's something I expected to happen for a while now. I am a bit wary of the next few episodes considering a certain character they brought back. The last time we saw them, we had one of the weakest episodes of the entire series, so I'm hoping the Duffers found a way to write them in a better way. I'm still looking forward to them, but I'm cautiously optimistic.  If there's one thing I struggled with in the first four episodes, it's how distracting the recasting of Holly Wheeler is. I knew that was coming, and I didn't think it was going to bothe...

The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominations today, and the most exciting part...I get to vote this year! I joined Film Independent for the first time and I'm really excited to contribute, even if it's just a little. And of course to see some great movies.(watching all the nominees is required before voting) Below is a full list of the nominees + my thoughts Best Feature Peter Hujar’s Day The Plague Sorry, Baby Train Dreams Twinless So far I've only seen Sorry, Baby (clear favorite) and Train Dreams. Sorry, Baby is currently in my Top 10 of the year. Best Director Clint Bentley, Train Dreams Mary Bronstein, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Lloyd Lee Choi, Lucky Lu Ira Sachs, Peter Hujar’s Day Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby I'm really excited to see if I Had Legs I'd Kick You, again, I've only seen 2 of these.  Best First Feature Blue Sun Palace Dust Bunny East of Wall Lurker One of Them Days One of Them Days being here cracks me up. I was not expecting this film...

Official synopsis:  Phillip,(Brenden Fraser) an American actor in Tokyo struggling to find purpose lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. He rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the beauty of human connection. "Charming" is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Rental Family , and charm goes a long way. The film can introduce an idea that you know is terrible and is going to end badly, but you don't cringe your way through it because the film is just so damn lovely and sincere. That's how I felt watching this. A lesser film would've had me rolling my eyes at some of the decisions made by characters at various points, but I completely understood Phillip's state of mind. I don't think I'd be able to resist a few of these things either.  We meet a lot of lonely people in this film. Writer/Director Hikari reminds us that connections are what make humans thrive. I think...

Official synopsis:  A retail employee, Matthew (Theodore Pellerin) infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom, Oliver (Archie Madekwe). As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death. Earlier this year I saw trailers for Lurker EVERYWHERE, only for it never to come to my local theaters. Thankfully, Mubi has picked up the film for streaming and I'm finally able to watch the film that caught my attention so many months ago. If you make it all the way through Lurker without the serious urge to punch Matthew in the face, you are built different. Matthew might be one of my favorite movie villains in recent history because he is so damn thirsty and pathetic. And the scary thing is there's probably thousands of "Matthews" out there. So many people have parasocial relationships with artists and creators nowadays. Especially the ones that share so much online. Random kids come up to Matthew and say th...

Official Synopsis: Based on Denis Johnson's beloved novella, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th Century. I heard great things about Train Dreams leading up to its premiere on Netflix last weekend. Joel Edgerton gives us a very quiet yet emotionally complex performance. A lot is happening around Robert Grainer. Not always *to* him, but he bears witness to a number of things that range from beautiful to completely horrific. And he doesn't always know how to react to them.  This is the type of movie that I think is going to hit differently for everyone. Some are going to be incredibly moved by it. It will speak to them in a specific way, and others will be left feeling cold. I was unfortunately one of the latter. I wanted so badly to like this, but I grew frustrated with how depressing everything about Grainer's li...