Rambling Film

Official synopsis:  When a visionary architect (Adrien Brody) and his wife (Felicity Jones) flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern United States, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious, wealthy client. (Guy Pearce) The Brutalist might be one of the buzziest films this year. Ever since it started its festival run, I've heard nonstop praise for the nearly 4-hour epic from direct Brady Corbet. Right now, it feels like a serious front runner for Best Picture at the Oscars. So where did I land with all those high expectations? I suppose I landed in the middle. I'm quite torn on this. One one had, it's very well made. Shot entirely on VistaVision over the course of 34 days, Corbet does a lot of directorial flexing here. He's taking full advantage of every angle the camera could go. At times, it felt a little too Malick-y for me, but Corbet is someone I've had a soft spot for since seeing him in Thirteen and Mysteriou...

Official synopsis:  An aspiring actor Edward (Sebastian Stan) undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, but his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare. Sebastian Stan is having a hell of a year between this and his now Oscar nominated turn in The Apprentice . I still haven't seen that film, so I can't speak on it, but I'm very curious about his performance considering that nabbed him the Oscar and not this. As you probably guessed, I loved Stan's performance in this. Edward is very meek and awkward with his condition at the beginning, then he goes through this painful (and gross) medical trial and decides to turn into a different man. At first, I was really annoyed with how Edward handled this situation, but the rest of the film was so good I soon let go of my annoyance. It's when Edward meets Oswald (Adam Pearson, who is an absolute delight) a man with the same condition, but none of the awkwardness that he really takes a...

Official synopsis: Bailey (Nykiya Adams)  lives with her brother Hunter (Jason Buda) and her father Bug (Barry Keoghan), who raises them alone in a squat in northern Kent. Bug doesn't have much time to devote to them. Bailey looks for attention and adventure elsewhere. After a short stint of directing TV shows and a documentary about a cow, Andrea Arnold is back with another feature film about the underclass. This time we follow young Bailey and she comes of age in poverty and meets a wayward man who calls himself Bird ( Franz Rogowski) I have to admit I started getting Tideland flashbacks during Bird and Bailey's introduction, but thankfully Arnold does NOT go in that direction at all. Bailey is forced to be more responsible than her 12 years calls for. She's rightfully wary of Bird right away, but when he explains who he's looking for, she sets out to help him. He's not the only person Bailey tries to help along the way. It's wild to have a child Bailey'...

Official synopsis:  When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ ( JJ Ó Dochartaigh)  into the orbit of self-confessed "low life scum" Naoise ( Naoise Ó Cairealláin)  and Liam Óg ( Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh) , the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue. I didn't have "getting into Irish hip-hop" on my 2025 Bingo Card, but here I am. As you probably guessed by the synopsis, the members of Kneecap are playing versions of themselves (though the story around them is mostly fiction) And even though they are not seasoned actors, you'd never guess it watching them here.  The Irish language is fascinating and I'm glad to see more and more films using it. This is Ireland's submission for Best International Film at the Oscars (which will have been announced by the time this review goes live, but we're not yet there as I'm typing it) and I really hope it's nominated. It's easi...

  Official Synopsis:   Sophie (Meryl Streep) is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan (Kevin Kline), a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. I was well aware of the choice Sophie had to make before going into this film. It's just a popular phrase in the pop culture lexicon. But I never bothered actually seeing everything that happened after her choice, so when Tubi's search bar was under construction (seriously) and this was the only one of my potential Blind Spots that showed up on a main page, I decided to see what Sophie was up to. Friends, I was not expecting this movie to play like a damn soap opera. I was expecting something a bit sadder given the subject matter, but instead I got a brightly lit, over acted *gestures wildly* whatever this is. Meryl Streep is very good, and she's much more grounded in this film than Kline and Peter MacNicol, whose characters I didn't like to begin with, and th...

Official Synopsis:  Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. There has been a ton of buzz behind Latvia's current Oscar submission. So I made a point to rent it on VOD before a recent flight. Honestly, I had not read many reviews. I feel like at most I'd listen to critics mention they enjoyed it in passing, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I hit play. Flow has no dialogue and that ends up working very well for the story. The animation does take a bit to get used to. I saw someone on letterboxd call it "Play Station 2 animation" and that is spot on. The animals look very "cheap" but the scenery looks gorgeous and when you're watching a film with nothing but the occasional animal noise, score, and the sounds of nature, you hardly care eventually.  I've never in my life been so invested in a capyb...

We've arrived! The 2025 Oscar nominations are here. Below is a full list of nominations + my thoughts. Best Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Nickel Boys I’m Still Here The Substance Wicked I'm so happy that The Subtance and Dune Part II are here. I'm kind of shocked Nickel Boys made it over Sing Sing, which I thought was a far better film. Bummed that A Real Pain was left out as well, because it's a far better film than half of these. The biggest surprise here was I'm Still Here. Best Director Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez Brady Corbet – The Brutalist Sean Baker – Anora Coralie Fargeat – The Substance James Mangold – A Complete Unknown I really don't think Audiard or Mangold deserve to be here. I will be hoping for a Coralie win.  Best Actress Cynthia Erivo – Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez Mikey Madison – Anora Demi Moore – The Substance Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here Fernanda Torres is the biggest ...

Official Synopsis:  In 1961, an unknown 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) arrives in New York City with his guitar and forges relationships with music icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates worldwide. I can't say I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan. His lyrics are great, but his voice is kind of whiny (and Chalamet nails it perfectly) so this is a biopic that I wasn't in a rush to see. However, the more I heard people rave about it, the more it pulled me in.  I like Director James Mangold a lot. I was going to give him credit for starting Dylan's journey where he does, and not taking us through his childhood, but then he just copy/pasted the rest of the typical musical icon biopic playbook. There's even a scene where Dylan and Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) sing a duet of  "That Ain't Me Babe" while Dylan's on/off girlfriend Sylvie (Elle Fanning) tearfully looks on that was pulled directly from Mangold...

Official Synopsis:  In 1985 devoted father Bill Furlong (Cillian Murphy) discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers shocking truths of his own. It's only natural that Cillian Murphy follows up his big Oscar win with the larger than life Oppenheimer with this quiet character study set in his home country of Ireland. I have never read the novel this is based off of, so I can't compare the two. But I did enjoy this for what it was. Small Things Like These isn't the showiest film out there. It's asks some heavy questions while taking its time to answer them. I never found myself frustrated with Bill's choices, even though he does take his time to act. It's not an instance where you want to scream at your screen to get the character to do something. Murphy plays him well. He's kind, and you understand why he might not want to stick his neck out at certain times. Especially when Emily Watson's Sister Mary is so damn scary. I do wonde...

Official Synopsis:  Divine G (Colman Domingo), imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art. Colman Domingo's career brings me so much joy. From being one of the best parts of Fear The Walking Dead to all the lead roles he's commanding now, he deserves all the praise he's getting. Coming off his first Oscar nomination last year for his lead role in Rustin , he's once again giving us a powerful performance that he should be winning everything for. Sing Sing in some ways wasn't what I expected. The title alone makes you think it's about something else other than the prison Divine and the other men in this film are   incarcerated  in. This is a film where you won't find many inmate stereotypes. You instead find a group of men who take their hobbies seriously as a way to escape, pretend, and heal. I...

Official synopsis:  Newly widowed Santosh ( Shahana Goswami)  inherits her husband's job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a girl's body is found, she's pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma. ( Sunita Rajwar) Did you know India has a law in some areas where a woman can take over her husband's job in the event of his death? I did not, and that alone peaked my interest in writer/director  Sandhya Suri's film. (Which also happens to be on the Oscar Shortlist for Best International Feature from the UK) Santosh takes over her husband's role as a police constable after he is killed in the line of duty and wouldn't you guess it? The misogyny is running wild. The film also explores India's caste system. Even Santosh herself subconsciously contributes. Someone asks her how she lives without getting justice for her husband's murder, but this girl is her justice. The story is very...

Official Synopsis: A seasoned showgirl, Shelly (Pamela Anderson) must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Until the Golden Globe nominations were announced, The Last Showgirl wasn't even on my radar. Then seeing the praise Pamela Anderson was getting, on top of this being directed by another female Coppola (this time Gia, niece of Sofia) I immediately prioritized it, even though aside from the performances it was getting a lukewarm response. I get it now. This might actually be the worst directed film I've seen all year. Gia clearly admires Sofia and loves herself a shot of her actresses starting off into the distance with a beautiful background behind them, but her choices here baffle me. I don't remember having issue with her direction in the last feature I saw of her's, Palo Alto . Every head on shot is blurry and she's constantly up in the faces of her actors. There is nary a tripod in sight. I kept wanting to scream "ba...

Official synopsis:  Journalist Shiori Ito investigates her own sexual assault, seeking to prosecute the high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case, exposing Japan's outdated judicial and societal systems. I would hope we're at a point in society where we understand why rape goes underreported and under prosecuted. In case anyone isn't, Shiori Ito is here to document then lengths she had to go through to get justice for her own rape. Even the person who ends up being instrumental in helping her doesn't believe her at first.  This is one of the most vulnerable documentaries you'll ever seen. Much of it shot discreetly on her cell phone, Ito takes us through her agonizing process of trying to report her assault, interview witnesses of the events leading up to it, and documenting her own mental health. It's not an easy watch, but Ito's courage will make you want to power through it with her. Aside from the obvious trigger warning of descriptions of...

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles caused the live show announcing these awards to be cancelled this morning. They came out later via press release (which I came to late because work)  I was really looking forward to these nominations, but it's kind of hard to be excited when you see that much devastation happening. Still, I have my opinions, and we're still in for a very unpredictable Oscar season. Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture A COMPLETE UNKNOWN ANORA CONCLAVE EMILIA PÉREZ WICKED I was really hoping something like The Piano Lesson or even Saturday Night might show up here. I'm rooting for Anora personally.  Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role ADRIEN BRODY  – “THE BRUTALIST” TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET - “A COMPLETE UNKNOWN” DANIEL CRAIG  – “QUEER” COLMAN DOMINGO – “SING SING” RALPH FIENNES  – “CONCLAVE” Adrien, Timothee, Colman and Ralph feel like locks. The question mark was who was going to get that 5th slot, and I'm...

Like everyone else on the planet, I loved season 1 of Squid Games. It was a great show, I loved that the broader US was embracing something with subtitles.  The only thing that didn't really work for me was the ending. And because of that, I really had no intention of watching season 2. Then I heard rumblings that "it's good, actually" and wouldn't you know it. I blew through it in a few days. Below are my likes, dislikes, and what to look forward to in season 3.  LIKES * Lee Jung-Jae continues to be a treasure. Gi-hun is a changed man after the events of season 1 and Lee plays him as such. I'm forever a fan.  * The other players are much more fleshed out. Last season we got to know a few of Gi-hun's fellow players but this season spends a bit more time with most of them, therefore they feel more fully realized. * The games are different. This show could've felt very repetitive had they kept everything the same, but the only game that is the same from ...

That's a wrap for the Golden Globes! Host Nikki Glaser actually killed it. Easily one of the best hosting jobs in recent memory. The only joke of hers that flopped was the Diddy one. I still wish there were less presenter banter but I will never get that wish. I also live "tweeted" on BlueSky for the first time instead of Twitter, which felt like the end of an era, but Musk really tanked that platform. I do miss it, though. There's so many great movie fans there.  I went 14/27 with my picks. Below is a list of winners + my thoughts! BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Nickel Boys September 5 Boy did I swing and miss with my "Globes are going to go crazy for Conclave" predictions. Brady Corbet ended his speech championing directors getting the final cut. It got an interesting reaction. I'm looking forward to seeing this, hopefully my theater gets it before the Oscars. BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY A...

Can you believe the Golden Globes are this Sunday? That snuck up on me. Normally I get my predictions out a week in advance, but here I am late to the game. Below is who I think will win, and in some cases, who should win. BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Nickel Boys September 5 Who will win: Conclave Who should win: That or Dune Part Two The Brutalist is gaining momentum but I see the HFPA going more for Conclave, and that's fine with me. It was a great film.  BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY Anora Challengers Emilia Pérez A Real Pain The Substance Wicked Who will win: Wicked Who should win: Anora I really don't think The Subtance is a comedy, even though it is my favorite film here. Wicked is everywhere and I see it taking home a trophy here, even though Anora would be my pick. BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez Sean Baker – Anora Edward Berger – Conclave Brady Corbet – The Brutalist Coralie Fa...