Rambling Film

Official synopsis: A surgeon (Pierre Brasseur) causes an accident which leaves his daughter (Edith Scob) disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face.  I fell off the wagon with my Blind Spots the last few months. A lot of what I wanted to watch isn't available on streaming, so I had to pivot a bit. I was hoping to make this my October watch, but I can't count on this to still be around then. I'm about 3 months behind, but hopeful I'll be able to catch up in the coming months. Summer always tends to distract me. I'd rather be outside. What surprised me the most about this film was how graphic it was. It's nothing like the gore and body horror you see today, but I was legitimately surprised with what they showed considering this film was made in 1960. I expected nearly everything to be off screen, but they really get into it.  It's very foreboding. You legitimately fear for all the women that the surgeon and his assistant come across. You al...

Official synopsis: Set in the time of the old republic, An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior (Amandla Stenberg) from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems… I need to address the elephant in the room with Star Wars fans. And yes, I am one myself, but whenever Star Wars chooses to have a female or POC lead, a loud section of the internet loses their damn minds. And over the past 6 weeks, I've seen a lot of that going around with the Acolyte, which checks all those triggering boxes for the racists. It's disproportionate hate. The Acolyte DOES have some issues, but absolutely none of them have to do with the actors.  I had to vent. It just bothers me that this happens EVERY time. Here are my likes, dislikes, and thoughts moving forward LIKES 1) The showed how flawed Jedis are. The Jedi order ultimately fails. We know this, an...

A retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies. The original Twister was never a serious movie, and it's quasi-sequel isn't here to be either. This is the kind of film you go to in the theater with the best sound system possible, and just enjoy your popcorn. To its credit, the actual story they're telling in Twisters is pretty interesting. You have Kate, and Javi (Anthony Ramos) who have their backgrounds in meteorology and want to "disrupt" a tornado vs a youtube storm chaser, Tyler (Glen Powell) with a team that don't have the paper degree, but plenty of knowledge and experience. Both approaching these storms from different sides, but there to help people nonetheless. I did have to laugh about that helping bit though. If you grew up in the Midwest, you probably ran a lot of tornado drills as a child. You probably also ran them at your job as an adult. Or y...

Official Synopsis: In pursuit of a serial killer (Nicolas Cage), an FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree. Ever since the trailers debuted, Longlegs has been one of my most anticipated films of the year. I was gutted that I couldn't get to it on opening weekend, so I had to spend extra time avoiding reviews. I wanted to go in as blind as possible, and I'm glad I did. My immediate thought after watching this is that director Oz Perkins probably really likes Se7en , and I do too! It's in my top 5, but I was reminded a lot of the structure of that film watching this. Longlegs doesn't compare to Se7en's greatness, but it wants to. What this film lacks is the character development to supplement the atmosphere. You need both, and Perkins chose to rely on atmosphere alone.  Thankfully Blair Underwood, who plays Lee's boss is there to breathe some life into this film. I like Monroe...

It's Emmy season! Below is a list of the main acting nominees plus my thoughts, because you know I have a lot of them. A full list can be seen HERE .  Outstanding Comedy Series Abbott Elementary The Bear Curb Your Enthusiasm Hacks Only Murders in the Building Palm Royale  Reservation Dogs What We Do in the Shadows I watch all of these except Curb, Murders and Palm Royale, though I have not caught up with the most recent season of Hacks. I'm happy Res Dogs is getting a nom for its final season, and WWDITS is so underrated. More people should watch. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary Ayo Edebiri, The Bear Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building Maya Rudolph, Loot Jean Smart, Hacks Kristen Wiig, Palm Royale Selena Gomez finally getting a nomination is kind of shocking. All I've ever seen her do is sarcasm, maybe she finally broke the mold in Only Murder's 3rd season? You'll have to tell me. I'm team Ayo here.  Outstandi...

The Bear has been one of my favorite new shows to hit the scene in the past year. Season 2 left us with plenty of story to come. Carmy's dream of opening "The Bear" came true. He had a huge blow out with both Richie and Claire. Syd wasn't feeling confident, Sugar found out she was pregnant. Basically there was plenty of mileage to be had this season. Season 3, while having plenty of funny moments and the return of some great guest stars felt incomplete. The entire first episode felt almost experimental, with its long shots of the city and soundtrack that played over. I liked the episode at first, but after seeing how little the entire season progressed, I resent it a bit. Carmy and Richie never talked. Clarie and Carmy never talked. We still don't know what Syd will do with her new offer. I felt like nothing was answered. We learned a bit more about Tina and Marcus this season, which was one of the few bright spots, but story wise it just didn't work well for ...

Official synopsis:  In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past. Who knew Ti West's little horror film X would turn into one of the best horror trilogies in modern day? Powered by a show stopping performance by Mia Goth, we come to the conclusion of Maxine Minx's story. This film takes placed in 1985, a few years removed from the events of X. The scope is bigger and the stakes are higher. Unlike the second installment Pearl , Mia Goth wasn't involved in the writing of this one. West ties in Maxine's story with the very real Night Stalker murders, and it works quite well. Maxine is haunted by her past, but she's still as confident as ever and that makes her into a great final girl. One thing MaXXXine didn't inherit from its predecessors was its pacing. I think Ti West was kind of caugh...

Official synopsis:  A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path, a cop questions his wife's demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning, and a woman searches for an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide. Yorgos Lanthimos is fresh off his Oscar darling Poor Things with another Emma Stone-led film. This time, it's three short stories strung together, with actors including Jesse Plemmons, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, and Willem DaFoe playing multiple roles.  The stories don't exactly have much to do with each other. I suppose they *could* be about "kinds of kindness" but it's really just a look into the oddities Lanthimos is so drawn two. Of the 3 shorts, I found the first and last ones to be the strongest. I think the last could've been made into a feature. The second one left me scratching my head, and after I post this review, I'm going to have to do a bit of reading online because I ...

Official synopsis:  An unexpected romance triggers comic consequences for a young woman (Joey King), her mother, (Nicole Kidman) and her boss, (Zac Efron) grappling with the complications of love, sex, and identity. Earlier this year Amazon Prime gave us another age gap rom com with The Idea of You . Now, Netflix is doing the same with A Family Affair.  Only this time instead of a famous singer, Efron is a famously out of touch actor, with King as his assistant and Kidman as her writer mother. I have to say based on some reviews I read on letterboxd I was expecting this to be awful, but it was just fine. It's a typical rom com. Not something you spend theater money on, but a perfectly watchable film at home. I was somewhat compelled by the love affair between Brooke and Chris. Mostly because we're given enough backstory on both to make you wonder if it could truly work. The biggest downfall of the film is King's Zara. She's an incredibly selfish character who throws tan...

Official synopsis:  After a chance encounter, headstrong Kathy (Jodie Comer) is drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals. As the club transforms into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny must choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club. I don't think the IMDb synopsis above really does this film justice. It implies that we're seeing things from Benny's point of view, and we're thankfully not. This is the Kathy show. She's our main protagonist, she tells the majority of the story. And while yes, there's plenty of scenes of Benny and Tom Hardy's Johnny without her. We still always find our way back to Kathy. That's the best way director Jeff Nichols could've handled this story. He's been wanting to make a film about a motorcycle club for quite some time, and by having Kathy, a woman stuck in a sea of shitty men as the main voice, the film is far better for it. Even though I just wish Kathy would mak...