Rambling Film

Skank. Floosy. Trollop. Tramp  Olive (Emma Stone, who got nominated for a Golden Globe for the role) makes up a little white lie as an excuse for why she didn't go camping with her friend. She casually says she lost her virginity to a college boy. Queue the rumor mill, suddenly Olive finds herself the talk of the school. At first she doesn't mind the extra attention, and uses it to help a gay friend who's being tormented at school. They pretend to hook up, and that leads to Olive playing up her new reputation. Conveniently they are studying The Scarlett Letter in school, so she switches out her casual wardrobe for tight corsets and sky high heels, all with a red "A" embroidered to her shirt. What starts out as a joke suddenly goes too far. The best word to describe this cast is "Charming." Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Hayden Church and Aly Milchalka are charming in their roles. Tucci and Clarkson as probably the coolest parents...

A must see for any fan of Bale's. Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is an industrial worker who hasn't slept for months. His rail thin frame shows it. Trevor begins to question his own sanity after an accident at work. He sees a man named Ivan, (John Sharian) but no one else can. "No one ever died from insomnia" Trevor remarks at one point, but can you go crazy from it?  Christian Bale reportedly dropped down to about 125 lbs to star in this film. (Then he bulked up quickly to play Batman no less) His body is terrifying, he looks so unhealthy and he did it all for this roll. Trevor isn't a simple character, and Bale gave everything for this performance. The film's dark twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. The film was shot in Barcelona, Spain but was made to look like Las Angeles, CA. I thought the film makers did a really good job of making the mostly grey scenery look convincing and fit in with the gloomy tone of the film. Recomme...

In 1998, 1 million ecstasy pills were smuggled into the USA by a group of Hasidic Jews. Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) is a young Jewish man who wants to be a Rabbi and is about to be arranged in marriage. His edgy neighbor Yousef (Justin Bartha) eventually talks him into transporting "medicine" internationally. It doesn't take long for Sam to realize that medicine is actually ecstasy, and once he gets the hang of his new craft, he sees no point in stopping. Eisenberg truly is the heart and soul of this film. Sam starts off a shy, vulnerable, maybe even slightly naive man who wants nothing more than to work for his father, be arranged in marriage and have children. He refers to these topics as if they are required. (Which perhaps, if he were becoming a Rabbi they would be?) Eisenberg slowly, but never fully brings Sam out of his shell. He could've gone nuts and turned into an addict, but everything he did was so subtle and so innocent. While we as the audience could...

1-Up! Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) still hasn't gotten over his ex, he starts dating a high school girl as a rebound and tries to make it big with his band. Then he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) things change. He becomes determined to date Ramona, but first he has to defeat her seven evil exes. This is definitely a film for people with a certain taste. If you're not a gamer or a comic book reader, you might not enjoy it as much as others. I dug Scoot Pilgrim, I loved how over the top it was. The Nintendo and Zelda music at the beginning was a nice treat, the special effects were awesome. The ensemble cast was wonderful. Kieren Culkin has some of the best lines in the film as Scott's room mate. Alison Pill was great as the moody drummer. There were plenty of fun cameos throughout. However in spite of all these wonderful things, there was one annoyance I just couldn't get over: Michael Cera. When Arrested Devlopment was on, I enjoyed Michael Cera, whe...

Please give Christian Bale that Oscar he deserved for The Machinist..now.  The Fighter follows the early years of "Irish" Micky Ward. (Mark Wahlberg) He's being trained by his older brother, Dicky (Christian Bale) a former boxing legend turned junkie and managed by his perfectionist mother, Alice. (Melissa Leo) Micky's family is holding him back, they want him to relive Dicky's glory and don't see what is best for him. Micky's girlfriend, Charlene (Amy Adams) tries to help him realize this. Micky Ward is a true underdog story, and this film is an intense, character driven drama that really brings that story to life on the big screen. Watching Micky's constant struggle to make his own way, prove himself as a father, brother, boyfriend, and to finally come out on top is inspiring. The cast is perfect. Wahlberg does great with Micky, but the bright star is definitely Bale as Dicky. He literally looks like a junkie, he lost a considerable amount of weig...

The SAG awards, arguably the 2nd most prestigious award in the acting world. These nominations looks vastly different from the Golden Globes. Here's a list of nominations. As always, my quick thoughts are in green .   Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominees: Black Swan (2010) The Fighter (2010) The Kids Are All Right (2010) The King's Speech (2010) The Social Network (2010) I'm really, really surprised Inception isn't in here. The cast doesn't get any better than that. I'm sure The Social Network will take home the prize, but I would love it if The Kids Are All Right did. I'm glad to see Black Swan in there too, Vincet Cassel love! Yeah! Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Nominees: Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010) Robert Duvall for Get Low (2009) Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010) Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010) James Franco for 127 Hours (2010) Somewhere the Coen Broth...

Remember how I said that the HFPA is known for nominating more star power than deserving performances? This year's nominees are a prime example of that. While there were a few surprises, I'll have to say this is one of the most disappointing Golden Globes list ever. My thoughts will be in green . I really should just copy and paste my twitter feed, some of the reactions on there were hilarious. Best Motion Picture - Drama Nominees: Black Swan (2010) The Fighter (2010) Inception (2010) The King's Speech (2010) The Social Network (2010) I'm surprised by the omission of 127 Hours, but other than that this category is pretty accurate. I'm sure all of these films will be Best Picture noms at the Oscars Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy Nominees: Alice in Wonderland (2010) Burlesque (2010/I) The Kids Are All Right (2010) Red (2010/I) The Tourist (2010) This category is the biggest joke of them all! The only worthy nomination is The Kids Are All Right...

Aka: Casey Affleck having sex with women, then beating them to death. Casey Affleck is better than this movie, and it shows. Lou Ford (Affleck) is a small town sheriff with some shady tendencies. He's told to bust a local prostitute, Joyce (Jessica Alba) and instead starts an affair with her. We soon see his true colors as he viciously beats up both Joyce and his girlfriend Amy. (Kate "I've only been good in one movie" Hudson) Affleck's performance is great, but the rest of the movie is a mess. Aside from Ford, none of the characters have any devolpment whatsoever. When they are mentioned in passing, you forget who exactly they are talking about because they are that boring. The ending should've been symbolic but ended up being over the top and completely out of place with the pacing of the rest of the film. The Killer Inside Me had some serious potential, but is hampered by a lazy script. Recommended: No Grade: C- Memorable Quote: "People think tha...

With the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual Golden Globe nominations coming out tomorrow, I've decided to take a stab at the nominations and see how I do. The HFPA is known for substituting star power in for actual talent, so let's see how this goes. The comedy categories are going to be hard to guess in a year filled with great dramas. I'm not going to do all the categories, just the main ones. Best Motion Picture Drama: 1) Inception 2) 127 Hours 3) Black Swan 4 The Social Network 5) The King's Speech Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: 1) The Kids Are All Right 2) Easy A 3) Cyrus (even though I think it's more of a drama..) 4) The Other Guys 5) Love and Other  (Maybe they'll throw that in comedy?) Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama: 1) James Franco: 127 Hours 2) Jesse Eisenberg: The Social Network 3) Leonardo DiCaprio: Inception 4) Ryan Gosling: Blue Valentine 5) Jeff Bridges: True Grit Best Actor in a Motion Picture M...

Someone at Disney is laughing The last time we saw the Pevensie children, the two eldest were told they have out grown the magical land of Narnia. Now the younger siblings, Edmond, (Skandar Keynes) Lucy (Georgie Henley) and their obnoxious cousin Eustice (Will Poulter) are pulled back into Narnia through a painting with the now King Caspian (Ben Barnes, who apparently didn't like the accent he used in the previous installment) and company as they sail aboard the Dawn Treader. Edmond is still trying to be treated like an adult (much like Peter in Prince Caspian) and is sick of being in his older brother's shadow. Lucy is now nervous about being as beautiful as her sister when she grows up, which I found a little weird because she already technically grew up once. Didn't she remember what she looked like? Dawn Treader is a particularly hard book to adapt in the first place because there really isn't a villain. They are forced to make up one (green mist) and jump about...

Yesterday the Academy revealed it's short list for the best visual effects Oscar. They are: 1) Alice in Wonderland 2) The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3) Clash of the Titans 4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I 5) Hereafter 6) Inception 7) Iron Man 2 8) The Last Airbender 9) Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Theif 10) Prince of Persia 11) Scott Pilgram vs The World 12) Shutter Island 13) The Sorcerer's Apprentice 14) Tron: Legacy 15) Unstoppable These are the five I predict will make the final cut. 1) Inception 2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I 3) Alice in Wonderland 4) Iron Man 2 5) Shutter Island. Granted Tron: Legacy could replace Alice if the movie does well next weekend. Inception ans Harry Potter are sure fire bets in my opinion. The critics loved Shutter Island (and deservingly so) and movies like Iron Man seem to thrive in the visual and sound categories. I doubt the highly panned Airben...

Regret brought us this.. After watching the film, I did a little research on author Stieg Larsson. Apparently he witnessed a gang rape as a young man and never intervened. He was full of regret and penned this trilogy, naming his heroine Lisbeth, the same as the victim. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo follows a disgraced journalist Mikasel Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) who's facing jail time. He's offered an interesting assignment by a man named Henrik Vanger (Sven Bertil-Taube). Vanger wants him to find out what happened to his neice Harriet over 40 years ago. He thinks she was murdered, and that someone in his long list of dysfunctional family members is responsible. At the same time he's being followed by  hacker and all around bad-ass Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) Blomkvist eventually finds out Salander is following him, and persuades her to assist him. I watched this movie based off of hype. I've never read the books, I never read a detailed synopsis of the fil...

Here's a list of the 2011 Spirit Awards, my comments & predictions will be in blue . I haven't seen a lot of these films yet, so this is more of a preliminary predictions list. I'll update it once we get closer to the broadcast and compare. BEST FILM "127 Hours" "Black Swan" "Greenberg" "The Kids Are All Right" "Winter’s Bone" I'm a little surprised Greenberg is in there, reviews seemed so mixed. I haven't caught Black Swan or 127 Hours yet, but I absolutely loved The Kids Are All Right. It's been one of my favorite films all year. I'm going with them for the win at this point. BEST DIRECTOR Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan" Danny Boyle, "127 Hours" Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right" Debra Granik, "Winter’s Bone" John Cameron Mitchell, "Rabbit Hole" Cholodenko did a fantastic job, but I'm going to go with Danny Boyle taking the win...