Rambling Film

Our mission is not complete. In the late 1500's Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) is no longer sending updates from Japan, where he was trying to spread Christianity. Fathers Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver) travel from Portugal to Japan in secret to find out what happened to him after hearing what they think is slander. Christianity is outlawed in Japan, and while there's was a few believers who shelter Rodrigues and Garupe, there was even more trials for them. At this point, we all know this was a passion project 20+ years in the making for director Martin Scorcese. Having loved all of his films, I can say this one wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, Silence is not a bad film but for me it was a very boring one. It's easily the most un-Scorcese film I've ever seen. There's a few shots here and there that are very "him" but otherwise he approaches this film completely different. The thing for me was that the story just w...

The SAGS have come and gone. Tonight was the night of amazing speeches. All the nominees got a ton of time and it's hard for me to pick a favorite. I imagine our DFTOUS will be going on a 3:00am twitter bitchfest after all the shade thrown at him during this award show. It was glorious.  How did I do in my predictions? 7/13. I blame The Crown. Here is a list of the nominees and winners. The winners are in blue.  Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Captain Fantastic Fences Hidden Figures Manchester By The Sea Moonlight I called this. I was rooting for Moonlight, though I would've been happy with any of these films minus Manchester winning. I'm so happy for Hidden Figures though, how can you not  be? It's such a wonderful and important film.  Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Amy Adams - Arrival Emily Blunt, - The Girl on the Train Emma Stone - La La Land Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins Natalie Po...

Sing. Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) is New York heiress who has big dreams of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible voice. She of course, doesn't realize she's terrible. Her husband, St Clair (Hugh Grant) enables her by never telling her the truth, showering her with praise, and paying off their friends to do the same. They hire a meek pianist, Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg) to accompany her as she tries once again to be a star. There are so many things in this film that could come off as completely awful, St Clair being the biggest one. He and Florence don't sleep together, he has a girlfriend, he spends her money, but you can tell how much he loves her. That relationship could've been so gross but Grant plays Bayfield as protective and madly in love despite his "unconventional" relationship. Streep is amazing as always. We all know she has a lovely singing voice so it was probably fun for her to be able to screech like that. F...

Do you have dreams? Star (Sasha Lane) has been having a rough go of it. When we first meet her, she's dumpster diving with two young children trying to find food for the abusive household she lives in. While she's out, she meets Jake (Shia LaBeouf) a magazine salesmen in a van full of free spirited young people. He convinces her to come with them and work for Krystal (Riley Keough) traveling across America. What makes Star the mots intriguing is how grey her character is. She's introduced to us as responsible for looking out for her half siblings (I'm assuming that's what they are, the film doesn't explain) but then she just dumps them with their absentee mother to leave with Jake and the others. It made me ponder on whether or not that was a good move, whether I blamed her, or thought she was ever coming back. American Honey forced me to watch something I couldn't relate with at all. I could never be a door to door salesman, partying all day ...

Wanderer is spicing things up with Thursday Movie Picks and has included a few categories throughout the year where we can use TV shows. Being a TV addict, this is amazing. Today's theme is Science Fiction, and here are a few I love 1) Westworld HBO's newest drama may look like a Western at first glance, but it's only a cover. Seeing how the "Hosts" are programmed and the "Guests" that interact with them is fascinating.  2) The X-Files I loved watching this show with my parents when I was a kid. It also introduced me to "shipping" even though I didn't know it at the time. I waited not so patiently for Mulder and Scully to get together.  3) Space Cases Anyone else remember this show on Nickelodeon? It was about 5 teenagers that randomly had a space ship. One of them had an imaginary friend that turned out to not be imaginary anymore when said actress quit the show.  

They're finally here! What all we award lovers anxiously wait for. I'm posting my thoughts a day late since I had my Top 10 of 2016 list up yesterday. La La Land tied All About Eve and Titanic for a record 14 nominations in case anyone was wondering the limit of the Academy's boner for this movie. There's no way it doesn't take Best Picture now. There were a few surprises, some good, some terrible and a few offensive snubs. Let's get to it.  Best Picture Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell Or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester By The Sea Moonlight For fucks sake, Academy just use all 10 of your slots! It's not that hard, you could've easily put Jackie in here. I actually predicted this category correctly, every single one, so I'm surprised with myself.  Best Actor Casey Affleck - Manchester By The Sea Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling - La La Land Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington ...

I'm always running late with these yearly Top 10 lists because I'm always trying to play catch up with some of the big awards contenders. Before this list is published, I didn't get to see Lion, a film I've had on my Must See list for a while. But it was hard enough choosing just 10 to begin with. I ended up with a "just missed" category because I kept rotating films.  Here are my Top 10 films of 2016, and the 10 worst.  Top 10 Films of 2016 This was everything I wanted from I wanted from the MCU.  The ending of this elevates it from a great movie to a phenomenal one. I can't remember the last time I was so angry at a film ending. I wasn't ready to leave Chiron.  This severely underrated comedy had so much heart.  I love this thriller and I think it will go down as one of Anton Yelchin's best films. An amazing performance by the criminally underrated Rebecca Hall, and a very good piece on mental illness...

It's time to predict the SAG's. The Oscar nominations are next week, but that's a bit too cluttered for me to wait for them. I managed to do alright with the Globes, let's see how this goes... Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Captain Fantastic Fences Hidden Figures Manchester By The Sea Moonlight Who will win: Hidden Figures Who should win: Moonlight Aside from Manchester by the Sea, I'd be happy with any of those films winning. They had wonderful casts. Moonlight needs this. The Globes not showering it with love feels like it killed the momentum a bit. (and not having the young actor who played Lil' included in this is bullshit) I'm not 100% sure they'll get it. Hidden Figures is more accessible and is very feel good compared to the rest of these. They might get it.   Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Amy Adams - Arrival Emily Blunt, - The Girl on the Train Emma Stone - La La Land Meryl St...

When you don't know why you're sad. Sixteen year old Billie (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) is blindsided when her mother Jane (Del Herbert-Jane) tells her she's going to begin the transition from female to male. She changes her name to James, and has Billie move in with her father (Beau Travis Williams) for one year during her transition. They make a deal to meet every Tuesday from 4:00pm-10:00pm to spend time together. Billie navigates her mother's transition all while exploring her sexuality with her new friends.  Director Sophie Hyde actually shot this film on every Tuesday for an entire year in South Australia. She didn't use professional actors and they were only given their scripts a week at a time. This is a tremendous gamble, but it paid off. Billie spends a good amount of the movie speaking to her own camera, and recording her friends. The use of non actors made it feel unprofessional in the best way possible. Cobham-Hervey is a natural talent, and I ...

This might be the saddest theme Wanderer has ever presented us. We lost far too many great artists in 2016. Three of those artists hit me the hardest, and I'm going to share my favorite film of each of theirs. 1) Snow Cake - Alan Rickman Rickman also played Severus Snape, one of the most fascinating characters in the Harry Potter series but his work in this little indie Snow Cake is among my favorites. He plays a man who goes to report the death of a woman he just met to her mother, who has autism and forms an interesting relationship with her.  2) Like Crazy - Anton Yelchin Narrowing down a Yelchin performance is difficult. I think my favorite film he's been in is Alpha Dog , but I wanted to pick a performance where he's the lead, and he was spectacular in Like Crazy . 3) The Empire Strikes Back - Carrie Fisher I know it's rather typical to pick a Star Wars movie for Fisher, but Empire Strikes Back is still the best Star Wars movie out ther...

Let them see what they've done. In the days after John F. Kennedy's assassination, we follow his widow Jackie (Natalie Portman) as she recounts her experiences to a journalist. (Billy Cudrup) It's a simple story, but enhanced by brilliant performances and the best score out of any film this year. Jackie is simply enchanting. This wasn't the Jackie Kennedy I expected to see. I can't say I've ever given her a thought that was deeper than superficial. Seeing her poise on how she handled something so traumatic was admirable. From trying to plan the funeral with Bobby Kennedy (Peter Sarsgard) to telling her young children what happened, to leaning on her assistant, Nancy. (Greta Gerwig) What Portman does here is amazing. She tries so hard to hold her emotion back, only for strong waves of it to seep through occasionally. We see her as a First Lady who is nervous in front of a camera to one who wants to face it head on so she doesn't hide from the ...

Can a lady get some credit around here? The United States is in a race against Russian to put a man on the moon. NASA hires a handful of African American women but no matter how hard they work, they're still stuck in the basement. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) is a math genius who is given an assignment to work under Al Harrison. (Kevin Costner)  She's the smartest person in the room, but her white male colleagues give her zero credit and welcome her with a "colored coffee pot" instead when she dares use theirs. The man she works with the most, Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons) frequently treats her like a secretary instead of an equal. Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) works in engineering, but she doesn't get the title of an engineer because the courses she needs are only offered at an all white school. Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) does all the work of a supervisor without the title or the pay. We watch these extraordinary women defy the odds and triumph...