Rambling Film

This week's theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is movies with high school reunions. I've never been to one and I'm not sure that I even care enough to attend mine when it happens. I hated high school that much. In fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with movies this week too. I haven't seen the big ones like Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and Peggy Sue Got Married. Here's what I got:  1) American Reunion This movie had its problems but it managed to be far better than American Wedding and did a great job at capturing the nostalgia of the first two American Pie movies. I especially like the use of songs from the original. MILF for life... 2) Zack and Miri Make a Porno I actually didn't care for this movie much at all, but the high school reunion scene, the one that gives Zack and Miri their bright idea was one of the highlights.  3) Just Friends Okay, so this wasn't technically a "high school" reunio...

Satanic Panic Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) is investigating a sex abuse claim by a seventeen year old, Angela (Emma Watson) against her father. (David Dencik) He turns himself in, but he doesn't remember anything. With the help of a psychologist, Kenneth Raines (David Thewlis) they attempt to uncover suppressed memories and soon Angela's story goes beyond a single assault, and turns up satanic rituals. I was really looking forward to this movie when it was announced. Cults are interesting to me, this sounded up my alley, but I'm also glad I read reviews first to lessen my hype once I saw they were mostly bad. It's true, this film isn't good. What's frustrating is that it's full of good ideas, but it's poorly executed. It reminded me of an earlier movie this year, The Witch . See, they balanced this slow burn with occasional frightening imagery and pulled it off seamlessly. When Regression attempts to do the same, they completely lo...

It was the season finale of Game of Thrones and Veep on Sunday, so there goes the bulk of my TV watching. I probably won't write another rambling TV until I pick up a few new shows. But we'll see how it goes. Game of Thrones King's Landing - The star of the episode kicked things off in a big way. If you haven't listened to the track Light of the Seven you should. It's one of the best tracks Ramin Djawadi has ever done, and the show incorporated the entire thing. It starts off with Cersei, Margaery, Tommen, and the High Sparrow getting ready for their day. Everyone piles into the sept sans Cersei and Tommen. Loras admits to all his sins and gives himself to the Faith. They carve their symbol in his forehead. Margaery is furious because that wasn't part of her plan. She starts to point out something is wrong because Cersei isn't here, but the HS ignores her. He sends Lancel after Cersei who notices a child running from him beneath the sept. Then he enco...

Alle Anderen Chris (Lars Eidinger) and Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr) are two Germans visiting Sardinia at Chris' parents vacation home. They're a bit of an oddly matched couple and when they encounter other seemingly happy couples on this trip, they're forced to contemplate whether or not they really are a good match for each other. This is a very quiet film. Most of the scenes are just with Chris and Gitti trying to find balance between them. Gitti is a free spirit, she's quirky and very humorous. Chris is straight laced and very dedicated to his work as an architect. You kind of wonder how they got together in the first place. I liked how the movie made us see both characters in a positive and negative light before we inevitably started picking sides. Gitti comes on too strong at first, but I ended the film feeling incredibly bad for her as Chris was very condescending. And while he seemed very sweet at the beginning, that eventually changed as it seems he migh...

This week's theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is school competition. You know, those things we take way too seriously as teens. The only restriction is that it can't be a sporting event.  I couldn't really think of movies I loved that were centered around competitions so here's two that are just okay, and one that's a bit of a cop out on my part.  1) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  This film had a great ending but missed on so many other levels. Hermione's pink Yule ball dress, Harry and Ron's hair, "HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE!?!?!??!?!" But hey, it centered around the Tri Wizard tournament, which was a magical competition. This pick stands out from the rest as it actually involves a participant that dies.  2) Pitch Perfect When I first saw the trailer for Pitch Perfect, a movie about a college a capella competition, I thought it looked terrible. Turns out, it wasn't that bad. It was actually qui...

This commute, man... Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is a construction manager and a seemingly decent family man with a wife and a son. Only tonight, he's driving two hours away because his mistress is having his baby. Not even a mistress, a one night stand. Ivan has to deal with his job, his angry wife, and his nervous girlfriend. Movies like this a hard. It's literally just Tom Hardy in a car for 85 minutes talking to people on the phone. We recognize some of those voices, Andrew Scott, Ruth Wilson, but it's Hardy that's tasked with carrying the picture. Luckily he does. This role felt different. I'm used to Tom playing an abrasive asshole or someone that's kind of out there. This was about as grounded as I've ever seen him. Obviously a film like this has limits. It can't really excel above anything because of the gimmick in place. Luckily we have someone like Hardy guiding us along. Director Steve Knight shoots it as well as he can. I appreciate...

Since this is my first post of the week, I have to talk about Anton Yelchin's tragic death. This guy was a fantastic actor and one I've enjoyed watching since I first saw him in Alpha Dog all those years ago. Watching the new Star Trek movie is going to have an underlying sadness now. RIP. Game of Thrones Only two locations to talk about this week, but man did they deliver Meereen Dany has had enough of Tyrion's shit. She meets with the three Slavers as they attack Meereen and tells them she's here to accept their surrender, and that her reign is just beginning. Then Drogon flies in, she hops on his back, and Rhaegal and Viserion break out of their tomb and they destroy the slavers ships. Grey Worm gets the honor of killing two of the Slavers himself, including the extra douchey one. Later, Yara and Theon meet with Dany in the throne room and offer their services to her. She accepts. The dragon CGI was SO much better than Daznak's Pit last year. I wis...

What kind of animal would you be? In a society where there are no single people allowed, David (Colin Farrell) goes to a hotel where if he doesn't find a partner within 45 days, he will be transformed into an animal of his choosing. He travels with his pet dog, who is actually his brother that didn't make it through.  The Lobster might be one of the weirdest fucking movies I've ever seen. I love that about it. There's a lot of deadpan, most of the relationships feel cold because of the way the movie flows from scene to scene, and that's okay. The story itself is so interesting. Especially when the characters venture out into the city and you see people being stopped for marriage certificates by the police. I really liked director Yorgos Lanthimos' other film, Dogtooth . This one also had some quietly shocking images like that did. (Though I personally could've done without the dead dog) It's not without its issues though. Since the film is...

"You're not supposed to put "fuckin'" in a poem." It's the last day of school and this is the longest bus ride ever in the Bronx. We see several different groups of students board and sit with their friends. They share their drama, whether it be planing a sweet sixteen party or watching a viral video of another boy slipping and falling on their phone. The "story" is told to us in three parts, Bullies, The Chaos, and The I. I put "story" in quotations because there really isn't one, and that's okay. If there's such a thing as a normal avant garde movie, this is probably it. I became intrigued with it after reading Dell's review. This film feels so natural. I was often reminded of my niece. She's 15, and when she comes to visit she loves to fill me in on her high school drama. I imagine several of her daily conversations play out like this. All of the actors come from The Point , a Bronx based community cent...

This week's theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is movies centered around stores. Your favorite place to kill time, or your worst nightmare. Here are three of my favorites. 1) Mallrats I imagine I'll see Clerks somewhere this week, but I prefer Mallrats. I worked in a mall when I was a teenager, and this film captures the essence of that well. The boredom, the drama, the weird shit. This film has it all. 2) Empire Records This film is very nostalgic for me. It's been ages since I've seen it, but my friends and I used to watch it in high school all the time. I still wish I could buy Renee Zellweger's version of SugarHigh on iTunes. 3) Dawn of the Dead One of my favorite horror movies, and easily one of the best zombie movies takes place in mall. It's the perfect setting for humor and gore. 

What I knew going in: That it was a big Oscar winner.  Doyle ( Gene Hackman) and Russo (Roy Scheider) are two narcotics cops attempting to bust a big heroin ring. Doyle is a bit of an alcoholic, and sometimes their tracking methods aren't exactly by the book. There's a lot of prestige around this movie, and I felt a little bad that I thought the beginning was so slow. I didn't find myself that interested in the crime at large here. It's not until about 40 minutes from the end that this movie really steps its game up and becomes incredible. It's very much a Friedken film. I always say he's a bit of a horrifying director in that he has some startling imagery. He does here too. Even though we don't have Regan from the Exorcist or the paranoia of Bug , he manages to be very forceful, especially in scenes involving Doyle chasing a subject.  Hackman is excellent here. You undoubtedly side with him as he's trying to bust someone for drugs...

Game of Thrones King's Landing - Another day on the slow moving KL train. This week we actually made a bit of promise. The Mountain crushed a Sparrow's head, and Tommen bitched out and got rid of Trial by Combat so that screws Cersei over. It ends with Qyburn basically confirming there's Wildfyre stored beneath the city. Cersei's going to light shit on fire. Meereen - Tyrion plays more drinking games with Missandei and Grey Worm, who for some reason still isn't back in his Unsuilled armor. The masters start attacking, and Dany arrives at the end to, I'm assuming yell "I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR A FEW DAYS AND THIS SHIT HAPPENS?" Braavos - Arya went to Lady Crane for her gut wound, and she  patches her up. While she's resting, The Waif shows up and kills Lady Crane. Despite Arya's injury, she participates in a foot chase all through the city, jumps out of a two story window, and kills Waif with barely a look of discomfort. She adds Waif...

When the job makes you a whole new person... Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke) is perfectly happy just existing in her small English town. When the cafe she's worked at for six years closes down, and her family counting on her pay check, she takes up a job caring for a quadriplegic man named Will (Sam Clafin) who hates his life and just about everyone in it. Lou attempts to cheer him up and ends up with a completely different view on things herself. I read the book based on a recommendation from a friend. I wasn't crazy about it, though it did have some parts I enjoyed. I didn't have high expectations going in based on that, and I probably shouldn't have been shocked at the amount of romance movie cliches ended up on this. But I was. Too many musical interludes of characters 1) Thinking about something real hard. 2) Having a good time and 3) having a bad one. The way too staged romantic shots (Hey Lou, go stand by the window with your top slightly unbuttoned s...

Twilight Zone. Em (Emily Baldoni) is on her way to a dinner party when her phone randomly cracks as she's talking on it. She blames the comet that's supposed to pass overhead tonight. She's read about strange things happening during that time in the past. While her friends laugh it off, while their phones start to break and all the lights go out except for a house a few blocks away. They find that Em may be right about this oddity.  This movie is quite the mind fuck. It's like a puzzle that we have to watch these characters put together. At first it's amusing, then it gets down right creepy for them. Baldoni has a great presence, as do Nicholas Brendon and Hugo Armstrong who play two of her friends at the dinner party.  The editing is really choppy, but without spoiling it, it makes sense as to why They're cutting the scenes that way once we get towards the end of the film. This is a short film, only around 70 minutes or so, but is definitely worth watc...

This week's theme from Wandering Through the Shelves will live forever....Immortals. AKA that time I tried really hard to pick something other than vampire movies. 1) Mr. Nobody Nemo is over 100 years old. This movie is about his life, and it's a very peculiar ride. No matter how weird it gets, you can't help but enjoy it. (Okay, so he's probably *not* immortal but close enough) 2) Highlander: Endgame HEEEEEEEERRRRREEEEEE WE ARE! BORN TO BE KINGS...okay, you get it. This movie is actually really bad, but I used to watch the TV show with my dad so there's there nostalgia factor. Plus Edge, one of my favorite wrestlers was in it for a minute.  3) The Friday the 13th series This bastard is immortal, it doesn't matter if we've seen Jason "die" several times. Dude just keeps coming back. 

BOGO detectives. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a widowed PI with a drinking problem trying to raise a teenage daughter, Holly. (Angourgie Rice) Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is not a licensed PI and essentially beats up people for money. March is looking for a woman named Amelia (Margaret Qualley) and she paid Healy to take care of the men following her. Once these two meet, they realize there's an even bigger crime at play, and they must work together to solve it. I'm so glad that this movie recovered from the opening. The film opens up with a kid stealing a porno from underneath his parent's bed. Not just any kid, but Ty Simpkons, the worst child actor I've ever seen. This kid ruined Iron Man 3 and Jurassic World (okay, he helped contribute to the latter) and I kind of freaked when I saw him here. Thankfully, it's his only scene and we're treated to the delight of Gosling and Crowe. I don't think Gosling has good comedic timing, but Crowe ...

Game of Thrones Another average episode of Game of Thrones this week, though it seems things are really going to start kicking off next week, particularly in King's Landing. The Riverlands The show does a cold open for the first time since season 4, and it almost looks like we're watching a completely different show. It's shot through a more vivid lens, people are happily working together building some sort of structure. Then it cuts to a man carrying a log all by himself. It's the Hound. A septon found him and nursed him back to health. He tells him the Gods have plans for him since he's still alive. Later, some assumed defectors of the Brotherhood Without Banners come and kill all the people working there, and hang the Septon. The Hound picks up an ax and walks off.  This whole thing was a wasted opportunity. Sandor in the books is a reformed man, and I expected him to be here too. I also expected Septon Meribald to give his "Broken Man" speech ...

The Hatter's the matter. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has just spent the last three years as a sea captain traveling the world. When she returns home, the man she refused to marry in the first time threatens to take her ship in exchange for her mother's house, and give her a measly desk job. While Alice frets over this, she's drawn through the looking glass back into Underland in hopes she can cheer up The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) who is dying of sadness as he believes his long gone family is now alive, and no one believes him. To help the Hatter, Alice must speak with Time (Sasha Baron Cohen) himself. I'm one of the few that actually liked 2010's Alice in Wonderland. It wasn't the greatest film out there, but I've always loved the character of Alice and that movie making a billion dollars at the global box office was awesome. It's a shame that nearly all the cards are stacked against it this time around. (Whose idea was this to open it the same wee...

Forcing girls to marry, what could go wrong? Lale, (Günes Sensoy) and her four sisters, Nur, (Doga Zeynep Doguslu) Selma, (Tugba Sunguroglu) Ece, (Elit Iscan) and Sonay (Ilayda Akdogan) decide to innocently play a game of chicken with some boys at the beach on their last day of school. However someone reports their behavior to their very conservative grandmother and uncle who attempt to keep the girls locked in their home to learn to be more "lady like" before marrying them off. When this was nominated for the Best Foreign film Oscar it got rave reviews, but a very limited release here in the United States. I've been looking forward to it ever sense. A film like this, about five sisters with religious caretakers is going to draw a lot of comparisons to The Virgin Suicides , another great film in its own right, but this one felt more powerful. Patriarchal societies and their problems are somewhat fascinating to me, you may have noticed my critiques (ie: bitc...

How fitting that Wandering Through The Shelves has us start the month of June with movies about weddings. June brides are a thing, right? At least that's what people kept telling me when I got married in June. I just picked it because it was warm. To be honest, I don't like many wedding movies, so this was kind of tough, but here's a few I can tolerate. 1) Wedding Crashers This is one of my favorite comedies until the last 20 minutes or so when it falls flat on its face. But it's so hilarious and quotable before all of that, I can forgive it. Lock it up. 2) Rachel Getting Married I used this one for a pick last year but it's easily my favorite movie involving a wedding. The acting is fantastic. I 3) Corpse Bride Truth be told, I wasn't crazy about Corpse Bride, but like I said. Slim pickings in the wedding movie world for me. I'd watch this over a "classic" like My Best Friend's Wedding or Runaway Bride any day.  click th...