Rambling Film

  This week's TV theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is focusing on score/theme song. I already touched on a lot of songs I loved in the opening credits post last month, because music plays such a big part of it. So today I'm breaking a rule I normally set to myself not to talk about the same show more than once a year, and I'm focusing on the music in Game of Thrones because I love it so much. Composer Ramin Djawadi wrote so many beautiful pieces of music. But these stick out as my favorite. 1) House Stark Theme - The Starks were my favorites and just hearing this theme song makes me think of so many significant moments for each of the characters. 2) The Rains of Castamere - Is there any other song that fills you with dread like this one does? The Rains of Castamere's lyrics were in the books, and the song played at a very important and heartbreaking moment in A Storm of Swords and the episode devoted to it in season 3. Even though we had heard the theme before ...

Cole (Caleb McLaughlin) has fucked up at school for the last time. His mother ships him off to Philly to spend the summer with his estranged father, Harp (Idris Elba) who is part of a community of black cowboys.  You all know my love for Idris Elba, and McLaughlin is my favorite kid on Stranger Things so I've been excited to see this for a while. Even with the somewhat lukewarm reception it was getting, I still held out hope. And it's fine! I actually enjoyed quite a bit about this movie. The first being that for the majority of the story, it feels so different. "Black pain" is a subject that's been talked about a lot recently. Everyone's tired of it, so watching a film where poverty seemed to be a central theme gave me pause, but while it falls into a few annoying tropes, the story is different enough to keep you engaged. Truthfully, Elba is not in this very much, but McLaughlin holds his own well and supporting players like Lourraine Toussant and EMMY WINNER...

Cole (Lewis Tan) is an MMA fighter blissfully unaware that he is the descendent of one of the world's greatest fighters. When other warriors began to hunt he and his family down, he seeks out Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) to learn more about what fate has in store for him. Objectively, this is a bad movie but I had so much fun watching it. I didn't play a ton of Mortal Kombat as a kid, but I played it enough to recognize the property and welcome a bloody, campy fight fest. Thankfully this was streaming on HBO Max, so I didn't have to pay extra either. If you go in expecting those things, you'll have a good time. It makes for a nice evening at home.  The fights are choreographed very well. At times it feels like the editor is deliberately trying to ruin a lot of these sequences, but the martial artists and stuntmen power through and deliver something very entertaining. The script and the actors, not so much. Nearly all of the actors are terrible and the story doesn't...

We made it! The much smaller Oscars are finally upon us. The new set up was a bit hard to get used to, but I thought it looked lovely....and then the ~choices~ started. ~choice 1~ The Best Song nominees played during the pre-show..and they were all staged beautifully! I didn't even see all of them because I didn't realize that's what they were doing. Who saw Husavik's set up and thought that needed to be on during the preshow? ~choice 2~ No time limits on acceptance speeches. Fine, I hate when people get played off, but this got seriously rambly, and probably contributed to.. ~choice 3~ NO clips other than Animated, International, and Best feature. I hate it. SHOW the clips. At one point Halle Berry mentioned that people didn't know what cinematography was (lol) and they follow it up with not showing any of the clips?? ~choice 4~ We don't have time for clips, but we have time for yet another dumb comedy sketch that all the loyal watchers hate. ~choice 5~ We'...

After the death of their mother, Mary Beth (Morgan Sayler) and Priscilla (Sophie Lowe) are just trying to move on with their lives when a deadly run in results in them trying to cover up a serious crime. In doing so, they mix themselves up in their quiet Maine town's underground criminal activity.  I first heard of this when the Independent Spirit Award Nominations were announced and writer/directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy received a Best First Screenplay nomination. Luckily, it was available on Amazon Prime, so I gave it a watch. And I have....thoughts. I really wanted to like this movie. I enjoyed the atmosphere and how cold and unforgiving everything felt, but the script was just trying to do too much. What I described in my brief synopsis is the main story, but it's not all of it. There's a few other side stories that attempt to weave together with the main one but they never quite click. At times, I wish I was watching an expansion of one of those stori...

  This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is psychological thrillers. This is such a broad theme. I decided to stick with films that sort of blend into the horror side of things.  1) Donnie Darko - This is one of those cult movies I really enjoyed but don't talk about very much. Donnie is an interesting character and this movie is beyond weird. 2) 10 Cloverfield Lane - I feel like I'm one of the few people out there that have actually enjoyed all the Cloverfield movies but this one was a huge surprise. I never thought it would be as good as it was.  3) The Perfection - This little gem on Netflix is batshit crazy and I'm glad I listened to so many fellow bloggers and checked it out.

Not to be confused with the documentary on trans representation in media of the same name, Australia's disclosure centers around two couples. We have Danny and Emily Bowman, (Mark Leonard Winter and Matilda Ridgway) a normally care free couple who are dealing with with a confession from their four year old daughter that their friend's son assaulted her. Those friends are Bek and Joel Chalmers. (Geradline Hakewell and Tom Wren) Joel is in politics and while they took what the Bowmans told them seriously initially, they're now doubling down and defending their son. They want them to remove their son's name from the report they plan to file so that Joel's reputation isn't ruined. We never see what happened between the children. In fact, we barely see them at all. The majority of this film takes place around the Bowman's pool as the couples argue about who's right and who's wrong. While the film attempts to make you question both sides, I was always firm...

Like I did in 2019 and 2020 , I tried my best to locate all the Oscar nominated Short films to give them quick reviews. This year I was fortunate enough to find all 15! Much thanks to the random users of R/OscarsDeathRace who helped me with two films that took me *forever* to find online to stream. If you saw my predictions posts, you already know who I think is going to win, but check out my quick thoughts below. Best Documentary Short Subject Colette - About a 90 year old former French Resistance fighter who makes the decision to go to Germany after all this time to visit the concentration camp her brother was murdered in. I liked how frank Colette was, and how she talked about morbid tourism with these camps. The first time I went to Germany, it was for school and we toured a camp. I've never felt so awful in my life being in a place where so many innocent lives were taken. It was like a dark cloud hanging over me. Colette talks about a fair amount of people being braver than ...

The never ending Oscar season is almost to an end...until Cannes rolls around this summer and we start talking about it again. Ahead of the ceremony next week, here are my predictions. Let's see how I do! Best Picture “The Father” “Judas and the Black Messiah” “Mank” “Minari” “Nomadland” “Promising Young Woman” “Sound of Metal” “The Trial of the Chicago 7″ Who will win: Nomadland Who should win: Sound of Metal or Minari I like Nomandland, but it's #4 on my Best Picture list. Sound of Metal, Minari and Trial come in above it for me. I just enjoyed them more, but I appreciate what Nomadland did and would be proud of all involved.  Best Director Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”) David Fincher (“Mank”) Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”) Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) Who will and should win: Chloe Zhao While I prefer Minari and Another Round film wise, I think what Zhao did here is wonderful and she's on fire this season. Best Actor Riz Ahmed (“Sou...

  This week's them from Wandering Through The Shelves is a suggestion from me. Female Cinematographers! The Academy needs to do better at nominating these extraordinary women. Last year when Cinematography was a theme, I chose only female cinematographers there . So this year my rule was to not reuse anyone I did there. 1) Charlotte Bruus Christensen, A Quiet Place - I loved how this movie was shot. For a film that doesn't have a lot of spoken dialogue, the cinematography has to stand out and this very much does. 2) Ellen Kuras, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - How she was not nominated for an Oscar for her work here is beyond me. Eternal Sunshine is a very unique film and the whimsical way Kuras shot this enhances that. 3) Rain Li, Paranoid Park - This is a Gus Van Sandt film that doesn't get talked about a lot. While Li was technically a Co-DP on this film, I chose it because it's one I still think about often. It's just shot in such a melancholy way. I...

Civil War vet Captain Kidd (Tom Hanks) travels from town to town bringing anyone who pays 10 cents news of the world. He reads various newspapers and tells stories, and is perfectly content with this way of life. Then he meets Johanna (Helena Zengel) a German girl raised by the Kiowa tribe. She speaks no English, and her tribe was slaughtered. She's hostile to the world around her, but has papers showing her last living relatives are alive in Texas. When no one else will take her, Kidd takes it upon himself to escort her. When the trailer for this first dropped, I could not have been less interested. Westerns just aren't my thing. Then I saw Helena Zengel's wonderful performance in System Crasher and see alone is the reason I decided to press play on this one. And turns out....it was a lot better than I expected. Having rock bottom expectations helps, but compared to the last few Westerns I've watched this film was an absolute breeze. Not having any sexual violence agai...

Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) suffers from dementia and refuses to have an in home nurse, though his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) insists. He needs the help, and she can't always be there to provide it. Anthony struggles to cope with his ever changing circumstances. Movies surrounding dementia rarely work for me personally. I hated Amour, and was underwhelmed with Still Alice and Away From Her . Because of my previous track record, I wasn't in a rush to see The Father . Alas, this was the finally Best Picture nominee I had to see, and everyone is raving for Hopkins performance. So I forked over the PVOD rate and gave it a watch. From a technical standpoint, there's much to admire about this. The film really puts you in Anthony's shoes and makes you question everything. The sets, and sometimes even the people change. You're never sure what's real and what isn't. I thought the film was spectacular in that regard. The majority takes place in a singular flat, put...

I never get to watch the BAFTAs, but I've always got something to say about them. Here's a list of the winners + my thoughts. Best Film “The Father” The Mauritanian” “Nomadland” “Promising Young Woman” “The Trial Of The Chicago 7” Even with Trial's SAG win, I don't think Nomadland will be stopped on its way to Best Picture.  Leading Actress Bukky Bakray, “Rocks” Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces Of A Woman” Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” Wunmi Mosaku, “His House” Alfre Woodard, Clemency” I like Frances McDormand but I didn't think she was outstanding in Nomadland. It was just a typical solid performance from her. Radha Blank is my favorite in this category but I was hoping for Kirby to win just because I can't believe she's only won two things for Pieces of a Woman.  Leading Actor Riz Ahmed, “Sound Of Metal” Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” Adarsh Gourav, “The White Tiger” Anthony Hopkins, “The Father” Mads Mikkelse...

  What I knew going in :...nothing, actually. Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) is a spoiled rich girl who defies her father and jumps off their yacht to head to New York City. With no money or means to travel, she has to team up with a former reporter, Peter Warne (Clark Gable) in exchange for her story. Admittedly, I only picked this because it's a title I was familiar with, and a Best Picture winner. I didn't know anything about it at all. I wasn't expecting it to be the blue print for every romantic comedy every made. It was really delightful, especially since I assumed it would be more serious. I have to laugh at most summaries of this movie calling Ellie the crazy one, and Peter easily out-crazies her by a long shot. The craziest thing Ellie does is jump off a boat and swim like a damn champ.  Claudette Colbert was the biggest standout for me. I thought she was wonderful and in my unpopular opinion she made Clark Gable better as well. It's nice to be surprised by ...

  This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is all about those amateur sleuths. This was actually kind of hard for me, because I could only think of one movie right off the bat. I kept thinking of TV shows instead. I may have to reach a bit, but here's what I came up with. 1) Harriet The Spy  - This is the one that came to mind immediately. I loved this movie when I was a kid. I have memories of my friends and I out playing in the summer, pretending to be Harriet, using compact mirrors to spy on random people and writing down mundane things in our notebooks. 2) Rear Window - Jeff is a photographer, but he turns into somewhat of an amateur sleuth when he eavesdrops on his neighbor who he thinks has committed a murder. 3) In The Fade - In this German film, Katja loses her family to a terrorist attack, and when she doesn't like the outcome of the trial she begins following the person who did it to carry out her own revenge. Diane Kruger is amazing in this movie....