Rambling Film

Official synopsis:   The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (William Powell) looks down from Heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style. This is one those classic films that I had never heard of until one of my favorite readers/classic film extraordinaire Joel recommended me to me. It was an easy sell. Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly. I'm in. Said follies are divided into segments. Some being comedy bits and others musical numbers. I think the film could've made better use of its framing device by having Ziegfeld talk in between all or most of the segments. He only appears at the beginning and it didn't feel like enough.  Of all the segments, I enjoyed the musical numbers the most. Watching Astaire and Kelly tap together is a treat, as is any time Judy Garland is on screen. I wish she would've gotten to sing a little more in her sketch.  On top of having a very compelling cast, the sets and costumes are glorious. They're so g...

Official synopsis: A suburban dad, Craig (Tim Robinson) falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, Austin. (Paul Rudd) Tim Robinson has been on the comedy scene for quite some time, but for the past few years he's been gaining momentum via his Netfix show I Think You Should Leave . He's basically the king of cringe comedy at the moment. That's not everyone's cup of tea, but it is something you absolutely have to be okay with before going into Friendship . Friendship feels like a feature length I Think You Should Leave sketch. It's awkward, hilarious, and will test your patience with how long a bit can go. And I mean that in a positive way. Craig is a deeply uncomfortable dude. He can't help but just make everything a bit more weird. It's easy to see why he becomes to infatuated with Austin, who is the epitome of "cool" to him. The script has issues. It's not really sure what to do with its 3rd act, but I laughed so much that I can't be ...

  Official synopsis : When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped (Amber Midthunder), a man incapable of feeling physical pain (Jack Quaid) turns his rare condition into an unexpected advantage in the fight to rescue her. I could not find time to go out to the theater this week to see Final Destination: Bloodlines like everyone else, but thankfully for me another cringe injury flick dropped on Paramount Plus this week.  Look, this movie is VERY formulaic, but I cannot deny just how attached I got to Nate. He's just SO pure and Jack Quaid (who looks so much like his dad when he smiles that it's actually kind of distracting) played him so well. I cannot imagine anyone going into this film and not liking Nate. And I will forever be on the Amber Midthunder train, so I'm happy to see her again as well. If you're not good with gore, then this film is not going to be for you. Nate takes quite the beating and the camera does not shy away from some of his injuries, even though you...

Official synopsis:  The authorized documentary of Kellie Maloney, the famous British transgender boxing manager. This unique film will explore Kellie's story of truth and denial, as she confronted uncertainty and ultimately accepted herself for who she was. Full disclosure, I did not know who Kellie Maloney was before watching this film. I don't watch boxing, where she had a successful career when she was presenting as Frank Maloney. I don't watch Celebrity Big Brother, which she appeared on as well. This was my introduction to Kellie, and I'm glad to have "met" her.  It's beautiful when someone can finally feel like they can be themselves wholly. Kellie transitioned "late" in life, but it's never too late. The doc is very balanced with showing Kellie's early career. Her ex-wife, Tracey and daughters all get a say - and are very frank (no pun intended) that things were messy when Kellie came out and she and Tracey separated. Thankfully, a...

It's hard to believe I was once one of those people who thought "Do we really need an Andor series?" when it was first announced. I hate my words after the first season, now even more after the second and final season. Andor is one of the best things Star Wars has ever put out. Now that it has come to an end, here is what I liked and disliked about season 2. Don't worry, I didn't dislike much. LIKES * Showing how every day people fight fascism. Star Wars has always been good vs evil but it's often framed through the Jedi fighting the Empire. Andor is a series that rarely even mentions the Force, and there's no Jedi to be found. Everyone is a regular person trying to fight oppression. I love how Andor was able to showcase this.  * The Ghorman Massacre was just as awful as I expected, but mirroring them after the French during WWII was pretty genius on the creators' parts. Ghorman is something that's been mentioned in other Star Wars shows, particul...

Official synopsis:  A couple, Annette and Ben (Daisy Ridley and Shazad Latif) find their lives turned upside-down when their daughter (Hiba Ahmed) is cast alongside a controversial major star. (Matilda Lutz) I find it amusing that in a film where a couple is having issues and actively working against each other would have parts of the actual film doing the same thing. On one hand, you have the actors giving very committed, nuanced performances. Especially Ridley. She's stoic yet overwhelmed and you want to scream at Ben through the screen to just HELP her. (Putting a pillow over his head and ignoring the crying baby in the middle of the night? Unforgiveable.) Then on the other hand, you have the composer who wrote a score that is trying its hardest to make this into a corny Lifetime thriller. It reminded me a lot of May December , which is also a good film with a terrible score. It just doesn't fit. It's so over the top and ridiculous.  Magpie might be a hard sell at first...