Rambling Film

Thank you, Vince Gilligan.   Breaking Bad ended last night with what I think was the perfect finale. It's not often that a TV show can end on the right note, someone's always left disappointed. But I dare say that I think the majority of Breaking Bad's fans were satisfied with last night's episode.   We start with Walt breaking into a snowy car, and immediately trying the hard way to hotwire it, instead of simply looking under the visor for the spare set. The tape playing talked about a woman named 'Felina.' There's Gilligan's awesome choice in music again. He stays still when he sees the police lights, and drives off once he knows he's safe.   We get a quick scene of Jesse woodworking, he said he loved doing that in season three. But as he turns to walk away, his apron gets caught, but it's really his dog leash. It was just a day dream.    He pays Gretchen and Elliott a visit. I for sure thought he was going to kill them out o

...Did you try whooping their ass?   Another 'Found Footage' flick I picked up from Alex of And So It Begin's list last May .   David and Clare Poe (Adrian Pasdar and Cady McClain) live in a house out in the country with their 10 year old twins, Jack and Emily. (Austin Williams and Amber Joy Williams) At first, the Poes' come off as over-bearing parents that have their video camera on way too much, and the kids seem genuinely embarrassed and un-interested in their dad's "capture every moment!" mantra. Then thing get a little weird, from acting out at school, to torturing animals, there's clearly something wrong with Jack and Emily. Davis a pastor, he thinks they're possessed. Clare is a psychologist, she thinks they're sick.   Home Movie is really creepy, and at times, a little unbelievable. (Especially the situation with the police, which I won't spoil.) But one thing I actually really appreciated was that this didn't f

Life on the other side.   There's been plenty of films about the holocaust, but one type that we do not often see is from the eyes of the children of Nazis. That's where Lore comes in.   Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) is tasked with taking her siblings (all younger than her, and one an infant) across Germany to Hamburg to see their grandmother. Lore's parents were Nazis, and they've turned themselves in so that they won't be killed. Along the way, they meet a Jewish man named Thomas (Kai-Peter Malina) who helps them along the way. Lore now sees the good in the people she's been raised to hate.   This was written and directed by Care Shortland, who did the wonderful Somersault back in 2004. (Lore was Australia's submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar) There are sweeping images that really reminded me of Somersault as well. The problem is, this story is far to depressing to get lost in. I felt terrible for Lore and her siblings. (And for the actor

gifs via the lovely lady sati from cinematic corner     Walter White is evil, there's not disputing that, but in episodes like 'Granite State' I can't help but feel bad for the guy.   Turns out Saul is skipping town as well, he gets to be Walt's roommate as they await the vacuum repairman to send them to their new lives. Walt wants revenge on Jack for everything he's done, but Saul is reluctant to give him the names of hit men. He pleads Walt to turn himself in and make Skylar and the kids' live easier. Walt's dying anyways, but he won't budge.   Vacuum man ships Walt off to a lonely cabin in New Hampshire with no phone, no internet, no nothing. (Except two copies of Mr. Magnorium's Wonder Emporium.) By the time he returns to give Walt his make shift Chemo, Walt begs him to stay for just two more hours. It's sad to see Walt like this, despite what he's done.   What's even sadder is Jesse's situation, he picks

Here are the winners of the 2013 Emmy Awards. Aside from a lot of surprise wins, this was hands down the worst Emmy telecast I've ever seen. Neil Patrick Harris bombed as a host, most of the skits were not funny, and their decision to do multiple tributes to stars that have passed just made everything extra depressing. Here's hoping the Golden Globes are a good time. As always, my thoughts follow in green . The winners are in bold . OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Breaking Bad Downton Abbey Game Of Thrones Homeland House Of Cards Mad Men It's about fucking time! I hope they win next year. This season has been explosive to put it lightly. OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES The Big Bang Theory Girls Louie Modern Family 30 Rock Veep No surprise here, but I still had a slight feeling 30 Rock might take it. OUTSTANDING MOVIE OR MINISERIES American Horror Story: Asylum Behind The Candelabra The Bible Phil Spector Political Animals Top Of The Lake I'm happy

"...shut up!"   That lovely header is literally what a bunch of random people said aloud in the theater a few different times. Awhile ago, I talked about the pros and cons of watching movies in a theater vs on demand, and I wrote that during certain movies, I actually really enjoy my fellow movie goers' reactions. This was one of those movies.   Keller and Grace Dover (Hugh Jackman and Maria Bello) are having Thanksgiving dinner with their friends and neighbors, Nancy and Franklin Birch (Viola Davis and Terrance Howard) their two 6 year old girls go outside to play, and never come home. They're frantic, there was a suspicious RV being driven by a man named Alex (Paul Dano) but detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is burdened with glorious purpose says they do not have enough evidence to hold him. Keller, slowly losing his mind and his faith kidnaps Alex himself in hopes of him confessing to the location of his and the Birchs' daughters.   Here&#

Even the worst sound mixing* in the world can't bring down this little gem.   Fred (Colm Meaney) has just moved back to Ireland from a long time in England. He can't find a place to live, and is forced to stay in his car in a small car park. Eventually, a 21 year old druggie named Cathal (Colin Morgan of Merlin fame.) parks next to him, and changes Fred's life in ways he never thought possible.    The funny thing about Parked is that I assumed it was a comedy, only because it was my husband that threw it in our Netflix queue. I saw that it had Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton!) in it, so I figured it would be good, I wasn't expecting it to be so quaint and devastating. A movie like this has potential to be a total buzz kill, but there's something about Meaney and Morgan's performances that just keep this film going. They're both lost souls just trying to find their way back into society. I thought their relationship was very beautiful, though very

September 22nd is not so far away. Here are my final Emmy predictions. Who will win, and who should win. *Edit* I realize that some of these Emmys have been announced, but I wrote this last week, so I didn't change any of my predictions after the winners were announced. OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES The Big Bang Theory Girls Louie Modern Family 30 Rock Veep Who will and should win: 30 Rock. I know Modern Family has taken this award for the past 3 Emmys, but since this is the last year 30 Rock will be eligible, I see this Emmy darling taking one more trophy. OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Breaking Bad Downton Abbey Game Of Thrones Homeland House Of Cards Mad Men Who will win: Homeland. Even though Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones are better (IMO) I see a repeat of them winning. Who should win: Breaking Bad. Yeah, bitch! OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad Hugh Bonneville - Downton Abbey Damian Lewis - Homeland Kevin Spacey - House of

So on a scale from one to Red Wedding, how much did you freak out over last night's episode of Breaking Bad? gif via coat-check-girl    I always said that Seven Thirty-Seven (season 2 episode 1 of Breaking Bad) might have been the best hour of TV I've ever seen. (That and Kissed By Fire in Game of Thrones, of course) but Ozymandais now takes that honor. How the hell is Vince Gilligan going to top this?   We got a cold open of Walt and Jesse's first cook (aww) Walt calls Skylar to lie about where he is, she plays it off. They discuss "Holly" as a name for their pending baby girl. They like it, they talk about getting together as a family, all is well. The next scene we're back to the same place in the desert, only with Gomez lying dead on the ground and Hank injured. Hank crawls towards Gomy's gun, but Jack stops him. Walt tries to beg for his life, and offers the neo-nazi's his 80 million fortune.  Jack shoots Hank in the head anyways, Wa

Living a double life. Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) has a job dubbing porno movies. His wife, Deborah (Winona Ryder) thinks he dubs cartoons. When that job falls through, he's given another as a contract killer by a mob boss, Roy Demeo. (Ray Liotta) He excels at this, and his family has no idea.   I had never heard of the real Kuklinski until I stumbled upon this while reading Michael Shannon's filmography. This guy is fucked up. He killed over 100 people. I thought The Iceman really made an effort to show what a family man Richard really was behind the scenes. Though in real life, his wife accused him of beating her, the film never shows him raising a hand to her. He does, however, trash their house after an argument that SHE apologizes for. That floored me how dependant Deborah was on him.   Michael Shannon is awesome as always. When isn't he? He's at his best when he's playing someone creepy, but he plays the loving side as well. I cannot g

The Notorious TIL   Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite enlightens us an on uncomfortable subject. Sure, one can argue a lot of the things said in Blackfish can be found online, but this film offers a little bit more detail, and is nicely put together for those who haven't had the time to look around the web.   At the center of Blackfish is Tilikum. He is responsible for the deaths of three people, most recently the grisly death of Dawn Brancheau in 2010. One man in this documentary describes what I feel like Tilikum's behavior is to a tee,  He's frustrated. Frustrated by spending his life in a small tank when he was captured in the wild at age two. Cowperthwaite takes us back to the beginning. She speaks with a man that used to catch whales in the wild for a living, and the footage shown is devastating to watch. Hearing the noise a mother whale makes when it's separated from its calf is gut wrenching. Even worse when SeaWorld purposely split up mother and calf i