Rambling Film

It's that time of year again! My yearly mission to watch all Oscar nominated short films. Each category is ranked from best to worst, followed by some brief thoughts.  Best Animated Short Film Unlike last year, all the stop motion dong got left behind in the short lists Butterfly - This hand painted animated film is inspired by Jewish/French swimmer Alfred Nakache. I was not familiar with his story prior, but this short is equal parts moving and devastating - A The Girl Who Cried Pearls - This is a really good piece of stop motion, but the story is already a bit thin, and the ending does nothing to help. It ultimately was a bit of a nothing burger. Also this getting in over the disturbing Playing God? Nah. B- Retirement Plan - This is also a bit of a nothing burger but you get to hear Domnhall Gleeson's lovely voice, and that's really what it has going for it. C+ Forevergreen -  The animation in this is beautiful, but seriously this bear is going for gold in the fuck aro...

This is my first year as a voting member for Film Independent! I didn't get to watch the broadcast live since I was traveling, but I'm excited to see the results. Below is a full list of the winners + my thoughts.  BEST FEATURE Peter Hujar’s Day  The Plague  Sorry, Baby  Train Dreams Twinless  I went all in for Sorry, Baby but it was Train Dreams that won the big one.  BEST FIRST FEATURE Blue Sun Palace Dust Bunny East of Wall  Lurker  One of Them Days Lurker is a really strong debut so I was happy to see it win here. It's what I picked.  JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD  The Baltimorons Boys Go to Jupiter  Eephus  Esta Isla (This Island) Familiar Touch  I didn't see all the films in this category so I didn't vote, but from what I did see I would've went with The Baltimorons.  BEST DIRECTOR Clint Bentley – Train Dreams Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Lloyd Lee Choi – Lucky Lu Ira Sachs – Peter Hujar’s Day Eva Victor – Sor...

While musing in one of my favorite blogs 1001plus' comment section, I was reminded of one of the most long standing disappointments for me when it comes to Oscar wins; Best Actor in a Leading Role. So to air my grievances, I figured I'd put together a quick Who won/Who should've won list going as far back as I need to in order to fill out a Top 5.  2024   Who won: Adrian Brody - The Brutalist Who should've won: Ralph Fiennes for Conclave or Colman Domingo for Sing Sing 2023 Who won: Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer This was correct! Cue "it's been 84 years" meme. We've got a bit of a gap until we hit #2 2022 Who won: Brendan Frasier - The Whale Who should've won: Colin Ferrell - The Banshees of Inisherin  2021  Who won: Will Smith - King Richard Who should've won: Benedict Cumberbatch - The Power of the Dog  2020 Who won: Anthony Hopkins - The Father Who should've won: Riz Ahmed for The Sound of Metal, or Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Bl...

We made it! The Oscar nominations are here and there are some great surprises (Delroy! Ugly Step Sister!) Some weird surprises (Wicked For Good completely blanking) and of course some egregious snubs. (I hunger and thirst for The Testament of Ann Lee) Sinners is now the most nominated movie of all time with a whopping 16 nominations! Below is a list of the nominee + my thoughts and comparisons to my predictions that I shared on Blue Sky. Best Picture Bugonia F1 Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another The Secret Agent Sentimental Value Sinners Train Dreams I went 9/10 with my predictions. I had It Was Just An Accident over F1. F1 is the only one I haven't seen yet, so I'll be getting on that soon. I never expected that movie to get so popular.   Best Director Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another Ryan Coogler – Sinners Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value Chloé Zhao – Hamnet I went 5/5 with my predictions here! I think this i...

Official synopsis:  As Spike (Alfie Williams) is inducted into Jimmy Crystal's (Jack O'Connell) gang on the mainland, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) makes a discovery that could alter the world. We are very lucky to be blessed with The Bone Temple so soon after the great 28 Years Later came out last year. This time, it's Nia DaCosta in the director's chair, and she fits perfectly into the world that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland has crafted. She perfectly blends the film's superior budget while still throwing in some shots that feel very reminiscent of 28 Days Later , the film that started it all.  While the first part of Years caught me off guard with how emotional I felt watching it, Bone Temple caught me off guard with laughs. Which is kind of insane considering how dark this film gets. Ralph Fiennes' Dr. Kelson takes center stage this film and his interactions with his Alpha Sampson are one of the strongest parts of the film. They provide a lot of humor all whil...

Official synopsis:  A socially awkward tween, Ben (Everett Blunck) endures the ruthless hierarchy at a water polo camp, his anxiety spiraling into psychological turmoil over the summer. If you're a parent of a t(w)een, mainly a teenage boy, buckle up. Watching a group of kids my son's own age like this in a film made me want to scream. I promise, this film is good! But I wanted to scream. Kids can be cruel, especially kids like Jake (Kayo Martin) who is a ring leader that no one wants to cross, even if they know piling on Eli (Kenny Rasmussen) is wrong. Eli is already different, he's very much coded as being on the spectrum, but he's also clearly having an eczema flare up and thus gets labeled the titular "plague."  Ben tries to befriend Eli, he knows what Jake and the other boys are doing is wrong, but his own anxieties start to the best of him. Plus, he's at a sleepaway camp, there's really no one he can go to aside from his coach, Daddy Wags (Joel E...