Rambling Film

Chris Rock was on FIRE tonight. I absolutely loved his hosting gig. He talked a lot about #OscarsSoWhite but I loved the way he went about it. Sure, he had a few things fall flat. Like Stacey Dash (although in hindsight, it's hilarious no one cheered for her) and a Girl Scout cookie gig that was too similar to Ellen's pizza one. The Weekend was the best musical act. Gaga brought abuse survivors on stage with her, and they somehow managed to stand out even with her massive ego. But there were some great surprises, a few let downs, and a whole lot of love for Mad Mac: Fury Road. The winners are highlighted in blue, please excuse me, I have had a Cersei amount of wine. Best Picture The Big Short Bridge of Spies Brooklyn Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Room Spotlight I literally squealed when Spotlight won. My husband made fun of me, I probably woke up my kid for a second, but I'm so happy. I wanted this so badly, this is such a lovely important film an...

Nothing is easy. Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is a trans working girl who has just been released from her month stint in prison. It's Christmas Eve, she meets her friend and fellow worker, Alexandra (Mya Taylor) a few hours before her show only to learn the news that her pimp/boyfriend, Chester (James Ronsone) has been cheating on her. Sin-Dee makes it her mission to find the woman and confront chester, while Alexandra reluctantly tags along.  The film was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S. It's completely basked in the tangerine glow of its namesake. Strangely, it fits the tone so well. A harsh film like this benefits from a lens that is imperfect. I went in thinking "it's a shame a story like this had to be shot on a cell phone." (I assume it was for lack of funding) but that's not how I left at all. It just worked. Rodriguez and Taylor, both in their debut feature roles feel so natural. They sound as if there was no script. That they could...

The final Valentine's Day theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is something I cannot stand: Love triangles. I fucking hate love triangles. Most of the time they're so unbelievable and plot driven. Then the person I want to be the winner usually loses. It was hard to find three movies with love triangles that didn't piss me off, but I think I found an eclectic trio. 1) There's Something About Mary Okay, so there ends up being more people involved in this then just Healy and Ted. But I love this film, it's one of my favorite comedies. I remember video taping it on Starz when I was about 12 or 13 and labeling it something else so my parents didn't know I had it. There fault for letting me have a TV in my room. 2) Y Tu Mamá También This is actually a very beautiful story and the three leads have an insane amount of chemistry. 3) The Dreamers Okay, so two of these are brother and sister. They go half Lannister, I get it. But this movie is re...

Blessed be.  After Willam (Ralph Ineson) and his family are banished from their plantation, they strike up a life in the wilderness, barely getting by. Their crops are failing, their newborn baby disappears while under the watch of oldest daughter, Thomasin. (Anya Taylor-Joy) William's wife, Kate (Katie Dickie) starts to lose her faith, and things keep getting even more strange as the smaller children believe a Witch has cursed their family. This is a film I've been looking forward to since it premiered at Sundance. Christian fundamentalism fascinates me in a completely morbid way, so a film about a family like that in the 1600's is instantly appealing.  Director Robert Eggers based a lot of the dialogue off of fables and stories written around this time, so the puritanical nature is captured well. There's an underlying creepiness throughout that goes into full swing when we hit the 3rd act. Although the film suffers from a serious pacing problem. It trud...

You had one job, Saul... Saul Ausländer ( Géza Röhrig) is held prisoner at Auschwitz and is working as a member of the Sonderkommando. He helps clean up the bodies that go into the gas chambers. When he comes across a boy who he thinks is his son from a previous relationship, Saul ignores his part in a plot with the other kommandos to escape and tries to find a Rabbi to properly bury the boy. This film is bleak, though being a Holocaust film that's not surprising. What did surprise me was how interesting the premise of the story was to me and how frustrated I felt watching it play out. It's ambiguous on whether or not this is actually Saul's son. I don't believe it is, which makes his focus on burying him even more difficult to watch as he consistently messes up the plan that the other kommandos put in place. It's sad to see them in this situation and to see their means to escape being lost with each passing mistake Saul makes. Like the recent film Mommy...

Rambling TV is a weekly series where I ramble semi-coherently about the things I watched on television. This post is brought to you by Moscato. Agent Carter I never thought this show would make me feel so sad. I saw the ending coming a mile away but it was still a gut punch. Poor Jarvis. I'm not a fan of love triangles at all, but I think Peggy could solve her problem with a simple three way. I wouldn't complain. Chief Thompson is such a wild card. It's like they go back and forth on whether or not he's going to be a complete asshole, or only a semi asshole. I'm rooting for semi. The X Files This episode was like the Twilight Zone. Mulder and Scully are working with their younger doppelgangers and then Mulder trips on schrooms. What the fuck is this show doing? American Crime I completely forgot to babble about this show last week. It's so intense. I don't even know what to think or who to feel sorry for or who to hate the most now. I...

Best Picture The Big Short Bridge of Spies Brooklyn Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Room Spotlight Who will win: The Big Short Who should win: Spotlight We have a bit of a race here, right? The Big Short, Spotlight, and The Revenant have all won big awards. I still think TBS comes through on Oscar night, though really Spotlight is the best of these. Best Actress Cate Blanchett - Carol Brie Larson - Room Jennifer Lawrence - Joy Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn Who will win: Brie Larson Who should win: Brie or Saoirse Brie's been taking everything in sight, there's no reason she won't win here. Though I wouldn't be disappointed of Saoirse pulled a surprise win.  Best Actor Bryan Cranston -Trumbo Matt Damon - The Martian Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl Who will and should win: Leonardo DiCaprio Everyone else can go home. Best Supporting...

What I knew going in: Seen bits and pieces and nurse Rached's reputation R.P McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a repeat offender, often jailed for violence among other things who pleads insanity even though no medical professional believes him. He winds up a psychiatric hospital where he attempts to rile up his fellow patients (played by Sydney Lassick, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, Will Sampson, and Brad Dourif among others) all while having a power struggle with the head Nurse, Miss Rached ( Louise Fletcher) It's nice to finally see the whole film. I always happened to catch the fishing part on TV and could never figure out how the hell they got there in the first place. It ages well, with only a few scenes that look dated. Apparently there's quite a few changes from the book; which I've never read so I can't comment on that. I thought McMurphy was an interesting lead and Nicholson is so charismatic and fun to watch. The supporting actors were also great in...

They just wanted their $15, man. in 1971, Dr. Zimbardo (Billy Crudup) wanted to study the psychology of men in a simulated prison environment at Standford University. He puts out an ad, he and his team interview 25+ students, and while they tell them they are given the roles of "prisoner" and "guard" by their interviews, they really just flipped a coin.  Our prisoners, among others are Daniel, (Ezra Miller) Peter, (Tye Sheridan) Jim, (Jack Kilmer) and 416. (Thomas Mann) The guards  among others are John, (Keir Gilchrist) Anthony, (Moises Arias) Benedict Samuel, (Jacob) and Christopher. (Michael Angarano) Christopher in particular decides he's going to play a part of his own, adapting an accent from a character in Cool Hand Luke, he escalates his antagonism of the prisoners to the point where other guards follow suit, and some prisoners began to break. Dr. Zimbardo and his team don't stop what's happening at first with the desire to see it through...

This week's Valentine's Day theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is movies with memorable declarations of love. Scenes like these are tricky, they can feel very corny or overly dramatic, but here are three of my favorites that I think work perfectly. 1) American Pie 2 This might seem like a weird one, but I love this scene in American Pie 2. It's so fitting with "Be Like That" by 3 Doors Down playing. (The American Pie movies always had the best soundtracks) It was a touching moment in a very raunchy film. How's that for a band camp story? 2) Slumdog Millionaire I'm not sure if I've wanted two people to kiss more than I did while watching Slumdog Millionaire. Jamal says "this is our destiny" and Latika simply replies "kiss me" and followed by the words "it is written" on the screen. I love it. Even if they don't say "I love you" they might as well have. 3) The Empire Strikes Back ...

Asshole friends call for desperate measures. Josh (Ben Stiller) is a documentarian whose been working on his latest film for the better part of a decade. His wife Cornelia (Naomi Watts) thinks he makes too many excuses, and has recently been struggling with fertility. On top of that, her asshole friend, and new crunchy mom Marina (Maria Dizzia) keeps telling her how much better her life would be if she had a child. One day during a lecture, Josh meets a young married couple Jamie, and Darby. (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried) Jamie sees Josh as an inspiration and also wants to make documentaries. They start hanging out with the two 20 something much to the shock of their crunchy asshole friends. A film like this had potential to share an interesting commentary on ageism and midlife crisis. It got there a few times, but the film was never more than just "okay." Josh's work ethic is irritating. I felt bad for Cornelia, Jamie is a creep and Darby barely serves a pu...

About fucking time. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a mercenary who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. A man named Francis (Ed Skrien) offers to cure him and turn him into a super hero, only it leaves him horribly disfigured and afraid to go back to his girlfriend, Vanessa. ( Morena Baccarin) Taking on the name "Deadpool," Wilson vows to go after Francis and win back his love. All while a couple of X-Men try to get him to go the hero route instead of the vigilante one. Deadpool really wants you to know it's not like any other hero movie. It's entire marketing campaign has been based around it. The opening credits tell us the film is staring "A hot chick, a British Villian, a CGI guy and a moody teen." That it features a "gratuitous cameo," is produced by "asshats" and directed by an "overpaid tool." It hammers in its point. The hard R rating on this film really works in it's favor, he was never meant for the P...

Agen t Carter This was the episode that showed even Peggy Carter isn't invincible. After Whitney was one step ahead of them the entire way, Peggy engages her in a fight and ends up being knocked off a platform and impaled on a pole. She's okay, it didn't hit anything vital. Sousa's fiancee stitched her up then realized that Sousa still has feelings for Peggy. That's actually not the way I expected their relationship to start showing cracks, I figured she'd die. I watch too many dramas. This was a very strong comedic episode, mostly coming from Jarvis. The big moment at the end was Dr. Wilkes disappearing. (Damn it, there goes my eye candy again) Dottie comes back next week. That should be interesting. I'm still surprised with how little we've seen of Thompson this season, I expect he's got to be making a come back soon. T he X Files This episode has a nice classic horror movie vibe, which I loved. It also showed the death of Scully'...

Wendell over at Dell on Movies always has the greatest ideas for Blogathons. This time, he asks us to highlight black actors . I'd love to write a brilliant think piece on an actor or performance I love, but the truth is, I'm not very good at it. So I decided to go with a top 10 list of great performances by black actors in no particular order. 1) Adepero Oduye - Pariah When I first saw the blogathon, this is who I wanted to write about, but I can barely put into words how amazing Oduye is in this film. She's so tragic and strong and moving. This is just a powerful film all together. 2) Akosua Busia - The Color Purple "Nothing but death can keep me from it." I cry every single time I watch this scene. Busia has a small part in this film, but she leaves a lasting impact. I couldn't stop thinking of her as the film kept playing and Celie, the main character grew older. My mind always went back to Nettie. The acting in this film is outstanding all aro...