Rambling Film

Official synopsis:  A man, Mickey (Dante Basco) comes up with an outlandish plan to avoid alimony obligations to his fashion executive ex-wife, Avery (KC Concepcion). How far would you go to avoid alimony? If your answer was catfishing a gorgeous yet awkward dude, Lee (Paolo Montalban) on a dating website with the profile of your ex-wife, then coaching him into saying all the right things so she falls in love with him - then you and Mickey would be fast friends. I have to admit I don't watch many rom coms anymore, but the premise of Asian Persuasion was enough to pique my interest. Not to mention, it kind of makes you fall in love with this side of Queens. Director  Jhett Tolentino shot this during COVID, and while that is kind of obvious with how people are staged, it almost gives you more space to enjoy the scenery. Plus Mickey owns a coffee shop called "The Fili Beans" and that is an A+ name. Solid premise aside, the range of acting skills in this film is...vast. Some...

This 4 part mini-series follows the Miller family. There's Mum and Dad (Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham) and their two children Lisa and Jamie. (Amelie Peace and Owen Cooper) Only, it's not a normal Saturday morning. On the morning we meet the Millers, police are breaking down their door and arresting their 13 year old son for the murder of one of his classmates.  Jamie, small, frail, and confused cries that he didn't do it. His dad of course believes him. Then when all the evidence is laid out on the table, this series turns from the murder mystery you thought it might be to the aftermath of what toxic masculinity and the manosphere can do to a child.  We follow Jamie's story in 4 distinct parts. Episode one is the day of the arrest. Episode 2 is a few days later and follows the police investigation. Episode 3 is a session with a psychologist, and episode 4 goes back to Jamie's family in the wake of it all. Each episode is shot as one continuous take.  What s...

It's that time of year! You know, that time where I'm three months late with my favorite films of the previous year. The ironic part is the few movies that were stopping me from publishing this list due to their later release dates didn't even make it. Without further ado... Honorable Mentions These films held a top 10 spot at some point throughout the year before they were bumped off A Quiet Place: Day One, Cuckoo, Deadpool vs Wolverine, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Blink Twice, Maxxine, The Outrun, Babes, Nosferatu Bonus Pick: This was technically a 2023 release, but it made huge waves in 2024 that I felt it deserved its own place. Red Rooms No movie got under my skin the way Red Rooms did. A movie I saw for the first time on an airplane screen. It's disturbing without showing any gore and may make you completely rethink how you consume true crime. My Top 10 Films of 2024 10. Wicked Little Letters *Saorise Ronan voice* WOMEN! I adore this charming little flick...

Official synopsis:  During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, an American sports broadcasting team must adapt to live coverage of the Israeli athletes being held hostage by a terrorist group. This is the last big Oscar movie I had to see (and thankfully I did get to it before the ceremony...just late on writing reviews) and I'm glad to have ended on a solid note. September 5 is not the showiest film of the bunch, but it's certainly worthy of its Original Screenplay nod. I already like broadcast/journalism movies to begin with, so this was always going to be up my alley. The entire film takes place in their broadcast room. It's cold and dark. At one point they go outside and the daylight just seems like it's intruding. It's pretty remarkable what this team accomplished considering they normally focus on sports. They ushered in a new way of watching breaking news. This isn't lost on them, and the conversations they have with each other raise all the imp...

Official synopsis:  When twin brothers Bill and Hal (Theo James) find their father's old monkey toy, a series of gruesome deaths start. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. I love a good horror comedy. Ridiculously over the top gore that barely make physical sense? Yes. I'm here for it. Give me that campy garbage. Needless to say, I had high expectations for The Monkey. I'm ready to laugh at dumb things. The thing with horror comedy though, crowds matter and hopefully you're watching with one that is laughing at everything as hard as you are. The wrong crowd can kill the vibe, and that's unfortunately what I got stuck with. Some folks wouldn't stop talking, others kept looking at their phones. Nearly every big moment didn't "hit" right because these idiots were too distracted with other things, and therefore killing the fun for everyone else.  It's a shame because there are prett...

We made it! Conan was a safe host. He had a couple good jokes, but stayed very neutral with politics. There were some puzzling musical numbers, like a Bond tribute full of people who didn't actually write any Bond songs. There were some surprise wins, some for the good, others not so much. Here are my thoughts on all the winners. Best Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Nickel Boys I’m Still Here The Substance Wicked I will admit defeat here. A lot of people were predicting Anora, I just couldn't see it over Conclave, but it won big tonight, especially Sean Baker.  Best Director Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez Brady Corbet – The Brutalist Sean Baker – Anora Coralie Fargeat – The Substance James Mangold – A Complete Unknown Baker had quite the night. I liked that he thanked the sex worker industry, which has played a huge part in several of his films.  Best Actress Cynthia Erivo – Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez Mikey Madi...