Rambling Film

Track marks. My love affair with Danny Boyle starts here. Every time I watch Trainspotting it effects me differently. It's one of the few films that can be described as "disturbing" and "beautiful" at the same time. Rent Boy (Ewan McGregor) is a heroin addict attempting to get clean. His friends and flatmates don't help. When he finally gets the nerve to leave he's plagued by hallucinations of his friends, both dead and alive. These hallucinations bring out the best in the film. They range from disturbing (a deceased baby crawling across the ceiling) to downright disgusting. (Toilet diving, the most memorable scene in my opinion) I've always loved the way Boyle shoots his films, and yet I can't find the right words to accurately describe it. It's different and beautiful and I wish I could do it more justice. Don't let the subject matter fool you into thinking the film is a complete downer, it's actually quite hilarious too thanks ...

You died of Dysentery. Ok, so that doesn't really happen, but it's hard not to get a little nostalgic while watching this film. It reminded me so much of playing the computer game The Oregon Trail in the labs in grade school. You named all of your characters after your friends, then joked when one of them perished from a disease or failed to shoot any game. I wouldn't mind having a go at that game again. Anyways.. Meek's Cutoff follows a group of familes that are navigating the Oregon Trail. Meek (Bruce Greenwood) is their guide, but after claiming to know a short cut he gets them lost and without water. Other members of the group include Emily, (Michelle Williams) Soloman, (Will Patton) Thomas, (Paul Dano) and Millie (Zoe Kazan) among others. Eventually they come across a Native American, someone they've always seen as the enemy. With a huge language barrier between them they attempt to have him help, but they are torn between listening to Meek and getting help f...

Don't let the porn star pink letters in the title and the loud music fool you. The opening credits of Drive don't do the film justice in my opinion. Upon first look I felt like I might be getting into a crappy 80's movie. (even though I knew that wasn't the case) Drive surprised me in many ways. I expected and received great performances from Gosling, Mulligan, and Cranston, but I wasn't expecting the film to be so wonderfully over the top. The Driver (Ryan Gosling) is a stunt car driver/mechanic by day and get away driver by night. He meets his new neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and immediately grows protective of her and her young son. When her husband gets out of prison and finds himself and his family threatened, The Driver offers to help. Things began to spiral out of control. When I say the film was over the top, I don't see it as a bad thing. I wasn't expecting the Cronenberg-style violence, but it was a nice surprise. It made the film more shock...

Relationship studies. Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis) lives on an island with his daughter, Rose. (Camilla Belle) He's into living off of the land and is not impressed when new development threatens his home. Jack is also sick, and has his girlfriend, Kathleen (Catherine Keener) and her two sons Thaddius (Paul Dano) and Rodney (Ryan MacDonald) move in with them. Rose's unconventional relationship with her father tested by this and she acts out in response. This makes Jack realize some of the possible mistakes he made raising Rose. Jack and Rose's bond is really the center piece of this film. At first we just get subtle hints on what Rose views it as, then eventually we see the big picture. Things begin to spiral out of control for the family and that's when the film is at it's best. It never once felt over the top in it's actions. Director, and Day-Lewis's real life wife, Rebecca Miller handles the film well and it is beautifully shot. All the performances are ve...

Sometimes life gives you the finger. T.J (Devin Brochu) is a bullied child who has just lost his mother in a car accident. He encounters Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a crude, greasy, and pyro happy man that brings chaos into T.J's life. He takes up residence with him, T.J's father (Rainn Wilson) is too catatonic from his wife's death to barely question why this adult is hanging around his young child. His grandmother (Piper Laurie) is to sweet to question it either. Hesher stirs up trouble by screwing with a teen that bullies T.J, setting fire to random things, and ultimately butting into the relationship T.J has with a shy store clerk (Natalie Portman) who comes to his rescue early on in the film. In T.J's words: "What the fuck is wrong with this guy?" Hesher is a very original story that balances both hard topics and light comedy with ease. Hesher's habit of using inappropriate past experiences as metaphors for deeper feelings is amusing. Piper Laurie...

Here's a list of the Emmy winners and nominees. (The ones announced on the air, anyways.) My thoughts are in green after various categories Outstanding Comedy Series WINNER "Modern Family" Other Nominees: "The Big Bang Theory" "Glee" "The Office" "Parks and Recreation" "30 Rock" Modern Family winning was not a surprise. I have yet to watch this show, but I've heard nothing but great things. The TV spots are pretty amusing. I loved the Kobe one. Outstanding Drama Series WINNER "Mad Men" Other Nominees "Boardwalk Empire" "Dexter" "Friday Night Lights" "Game of Thrones" "The Good Wife" My husband guaranteed me that Games of Thrones would win. I saw Boardwalk Empire. Whoops. Outstanding Miniseries or Made for Television Movie WINNER "Downton Abbey" Other Nominees: Cinema Verite "The Kennedys" "Mildred Pierce" "...

Serious trouble beats serious bordem. Francis Doyle (Emile Hirsch) and Tim Sullivan (Kieran Culkin) are two 14 year old boys going to Catholic school in the mid 70's. They have a talent for drawing, and create comic books to pass the time. When a nun (Jodie Foster) comes across one of their drawings she immediately disciplines the boys. Fed up with their teacher, they come up with a seemingly over the top plan to take her out. Hirsch and Culkin have a lot of talent, and even at their young ages it shows in this film. They play their conflicted characters with ease as they deal with first love, consequences, life and death. I spent the entire film thinking their plan was way to over the top to work. Just a simple fantasy in the mind of a child, but when they actually begin to pull it off I was surprised.  The film switches back and forth between our actors and the comic book characters they have created. It's a very cool effect seeing their comics come to life in animation whi...

I suppose it's a better title than 'Kids in America.' Kids in America was the working title for this movie when it was filmed way back in 2006. Being a big fan of Teresa Palmer, I've been keeping an eye on this movie since. When I first saw the trailer for this, it wasn't anything like I pictured. A quick look at the film's IMDb page says the heavy drug use in the film was the reason for it being delayed, I almost wonder if the licensing for all the songs they used had something to do with it at well. Matt (Topher Grace) is a recent MIT graduate that for some unknown reason doesn't want to put his education to good use and get a good paying job. He's back home in LA working at a Sun Coast. Matt's always had a thing for Tori (Teresa Palmer) who's back for the Labor Day weekend as well. He's determined to get her phone number at an annual party for his high school class. Anna Faris plays Matt's twin sister, Wendy and Dan Folger plays his...

Quest time! Prince Fabious (James Franco) is a hero, a charmer, and clearly his kingdom's favorite prince. His brother Thadeous, (Danny McBride) is lazy and somewhat jealous of his brother. When Fabious's new found love Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by the evil Leezar, (Justin Theroux) The princes must go on a quest to save her in this Renaissance parody.   Your Highness isn't a perfect movie, but I don't understand all the hate towards it. Sure 3/4 of the dialogue is sex jokes, but they're hilarious and do exactly what they are supposed to: make you laugh. I loved the one liners and the cast was hilarious. The special effects were incredibly corny, but it fits the tone of the film. I'm not saying that the movie is poorly done, they just fall into "so bad it's funny category." The gag reel and alternate takes on the DVD are definitely worth watching as well. Recommended: Yes Grade: B Memorable Quote: "Father, you cannot be se...

Cold, wet, Pennsylvania Spring. After viewing My Idiot Brother this week, it got me thinking about the casting of Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks together. They make a good pair, and the film that started it all (for me anyways) was Wet Hot American Summer. It's the last day of summer camp and there's a lot to be done. The talent show, the activities. Love is in the air. Whether it be a triangle between the staff, a secret love, or the camp director's (Janeane Garofalo) love for a scientist. We follow both the staff and the campers on this day. The cast is littered with plenty of comedic actors including Rudd, Banks, Garofalo, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Bradley Cooper, David Hyde Pierce, A.D Miles, and Ken Marino. There's plenty more to name. Even if their parts were small they still contributed to one of the best comedies of the 2000's. It's great to see where the careers of Banks, Rudd, and Poehler in particular have gone after this film. It's also very n...

Last year I wrote a post about what I wanted from the finale season of Rescue Me. I wrote it shortly after I watched the season 6 finale, which greatly pissed me off to put it lightly. I'm much more pleased with how the series finale played out. I was getting a little nervous because season 7 started off weak, but I thought the ending was a perfect fit. Let's see how I did. Spoiler alert, obviously. 1) What I wanted: Jimmy and Damian to interact in Tommy's visions. What I got: As it turns out, Damian didn't succumb to his injuries and was still in a wheelchair when we see him in season 7. (There was plenty of speculation last year that he might die) I was pretty disappointed that Jimmy never even mentioned Damian when Tommy did see him later on in the season. I felt Damian getting hurt was a huge deal, but the show didn't treat it that way. I did enjoy Johnny being in Tommy's visions once again though. 2) What I wanted: Tommy needs to be with Kelly. (Mau...

What's the matter with these college kids!? I'm going to describe this movie to you the same way it was described to me: "Basically, Alan Tudyk plays a hillbilly who gets mistaken for a murderer, but really the people just keep dying by accident." Needless to say, that ridiculous statement was enough to get me interested in viewing this on demand. It's slightly accurate. Tucker (Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) fit the hillbilly from West Virgina look pretty well. They are out in the woods fixing up their "vacation home" when they come across some college kids that assume they must be psychos. After Allison (Katrina Bowden) accidentally falls in the river and is rescued by Dale, her friends automatically assume they have kidnapped her and began to wage war against the "hillbillie killers." Unfortunately for them they make some mistakes and accidentally die one by one. Unfortunately for Tucker and Dale, they are convinced that these kids must hav...

He had a bad day. Poor Ned. (Paul Rudd) He's just a easy going farmer with a heart of gold. Too bad he's a little on the space cadet side and sells pot to a uniformed police officer and winds up in prison. Released for good behavior, (he won most cooperative inmate four months running!) he winds up homeless, and dogless, after his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) kicks him to the curb. He's forced to spend his time living with his three sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer) who all have very different and very busy lives. The supporting cast also includes Steve Coogan, Rashinda Jones and Adam Scott among others. This was definitely one of my favorite ensembles of the year. Rudd's Ned is so loving even though he messes things up. Banks, Deschanel and Mortimer also bring out the best in their very different characters. Deschanel in particular is starting to steer away from the "quirky girl next door" character she's been shoe boxed i...

One man did not kill Abe Lincoln. Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) is a war veteran and a lawyer that's tasked with defending Mary Surratt, (Robin Penn) the lone woman amongst seven men charged with planning the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. As the trial goes on Fredrick begins to believe his client's innocence, and feels she's being used as a decoy. The Conspirator has strong performances from McAvoy, Penn, and Evan Rachel Wood who plays Mary's daughter, Anna. The plot was interesting, but I felt that it dragged at points and became a little hard to pay attention too when it was moving so slowly. That's typical Robert Redford though. All of his movies feel longer than they really are. (With the exception of Quiz Show, which was fantastic.) I feel like he didn't quite get his message across. Similar to what happened with Lions for Lambs. Great cast, interesting plot on paper, but not the best transition to the screen. Recommended: No Grade: C Memo...