Rambling Film

I went 8/15 with my SAG picks last night, but I was happy to be wrong with so many. Last night had a lot of surprises. CODA reigned supreme winning best Cast. Squid Game made history in the TV acting nominations, and Succession still got some love. We have a legit race going on for Best Actress, and best of all, no comedy bits! The Academy should take note with how easily the SAGs move along. No extras, just winners giving speeches. I was too tired to finish this last night, so here we are this morning. Below are the SAG winners + my thoughts. Cast in a Motion Picture “Belfast” “CODA” “Don’t Look Up” “House of Gucci” “King Richard” I am SO happy I was wrong here! This was such a lovely film and it's nice to have the deaf community represented with this honor.  Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog” Andrew Garfield, “Tick Tick Boom” Will Smith, “King Richard” Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of...

  What I knew going in: I've seen other of Chaplin's films featuring "The Tramp" When the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) meets a blind woman selling flowers (Virginia Cherrill) he begins to look for ways to earn money to help her with a medical procedure to get her sight back.  I wanted to add a Chaplin film to my Blind Spot list and I chose this one since it appears to be one of the most well-liked of his work. Thankfully, this was available on HBO Max for me to check out. This didn't quite change my feelings about Chaplin films in general, and that's that they should never been more than an hour long AT MOST. Silent slap stick is definitely an acquired taste, and it's one that I appreciate more than I actually enjoy. There were a few parts in this film where I did genuinely laugh. Mostly during the infamous boxing match. I will give this film a ton of credit for being quite ballsy for a 30's film. Attempted suicide is a big part of the story, and from what ...

It's the last romantic theme over at Wandering Through the Shelves and we're ending on Workplace Romances. I tried to go a little bit outside the box for this theme and picked more untraditional "romances" so here's what I came up with. *EDIT* My dumb ass forgot it was a TV week so I guess you get bonus movie picks as well. 1) Agents of SHIELD - Fitz and Simmons are the perfect couple and this show honestly through so much bullshit at them for the ~drama~ of it. Let them be the happy science nerds, you monsters! 2) Better Call Saul - I wasn't sure how I'd handle someone as slippery as Saul in a romance, but his relationship with fellow lawyer Kim has been interesting, and honestly kind of scary because Kim wasn't around in Breaking Bad so you know something terrible is probably going to happen. 3) The Newsroom - Sorkin has issues writing women, and Maggie is a good example of that. yet, I really rooted for Maggie and Jim and I'm happy they finall...

When Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) was a child, she was badly injured in a car accident and as a result, has a titanium plate screwed into her head. Now in her 30's, she's developed an erotic fixation on cars and metal. A series of events brings her to Vincent (Vincent Lindon) a firefighter who lost his son decades earlier. Titane is a movie that's carried a LOT of hype since winning at Cannes. At its most basic, it's been described as "the movie where a girl has sex with a car." But Titane is a lot more than that. Or at least it wants to be. I, like many others loved director Julia Ducournau's last feature, Raw . And her jarring body horror is back and dialed up to eleven. I haven't squirmed this much in a while. You're either going to find a lot of this incredibly sexy or you're going to recoil. It's brave filmmaking. I'm just not sure if all of it works together. The first half and second half are wildly different, even though they are...

This documentary follows Amin, an Afghan refugee living in Denmark. Told through animation to preserve Amin's true identity, he tells filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen a story that he has kept secret for quite some time. I have been very underwhelmed with the animated features this year. Surprisingly enough, it's an animated documentary that broke my slump. Flee might not be the most expertly animated, but it has a ton of heart and an extraordinary story. I wish anti immigration folks would stop and think about the hell refugees have to go through to get asylum. This doc really sends that home. As Amin recalls how his family had to go from Afghanistan to Russia, then Russian to Sweden, and more in between, it never shies away from how expensive it is to pay someone to stow you away, and how awful those conditions can be. Thankfully, it never gets into exploitative territory, but the message is very clear. I was enthralled by Amin's story, so much so that my only complaint ab...

  The SAG awards are only a week away so it's time to make some predictions. Below are who I think will win, and in some cases, who should win instead. Cast in a Motion Picture “Belfast” “CODA” “Don’t Look Up” “House of Gucci” “King Richard” Who will win: Don't Look Up Who should win: CODA or King Richard I know a lot of people are probably going to guess Belfast here, and that was my first thought too, but I just have a feeling about Don't Look Up. There are a lot of very likable actors in this cast, and I could see them winning. Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog” Andrew Garfield, “Tick Tick Boom” Will Smith, “King Richard” Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” Who will and should win: Benedict Cumberbatch I know the Globes went for Smith, but The Power of the Dog led in Oscar noms and Cumberbatch gave the best performance of these five, IMO. I'm going with my favorite....

This week's romantic trope theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is second chances at love! Or as it could also be called; "Trying really hard not to pick The Notebook." I swear I pick that movie every year when we have romantic themes. Thankfully, I did find something to replace it with. Here are a few films I enjoy where the characters get that second chance. 1) The Lunchbox - This movie is about a man whose lunchbox is mixed up in a delivery service and is instead connected to a lonely housewife. They communicate with letters left in the lunchbox. I adore this movie so much. It's so sweet and pure and I miss the late Irrfan Khan. 2) Forgetting Sarah Marshall - This is high on my favorite comedy list. After a recent breakup, Peter takes a Hawaiian vacation, ends up at the same resort as his ex, yet falls in love. It's so much fun and Jason Segel has a very memorable introduction into this movie. 3) Marry Me - A recent watch made the list! Both Kat and Charl...

Makwa (Michael Greyeyes) had a rough life growing up on the Reservation. So much so that he's done everything he can do leave it behind. He goes by Michael now and has a successful job and family. When his old friend Teddo (Chaske Spencer) is released from prison, he brings with him a secret from their past that Makwa will do anything to keep it that way.) I had read a few reviews of this film months ago, then it completely fell off my radar. No theatrical release near me. No DVD release. I had forgotten about it until it came up as an option to watch on a recent flight I took. I was happy to re-discover it there. Wild Indian is not going to be for everyone. It's a very deliberately paced movie that doesn't offer a ton of answers or resolutions. Ultimately, I found it very sad. At its heart, Makwa's neglectful and abusive parents shape him into the man he becomes. And even though he and Teddo take very different turns in life, they're both still affected by that tr...

Jay (Jason Isaacs) and Gail (Martha Plimpton) are meeting with another couple, Linda (Ann Dowd) and Richard (Reed Birney) to discuss an act of violence that affected both families.  I've been wanting to see this since it debuted at Sundance in 2021 but it never came to a theater near me. Then it fell into my queue on DVD Netflix, only for it to get sent back into "Unknown" hell. Then as luck would have it, it was one of the in flight movies options on a flight I took last week. I have never clicked on something so fast.  Thankfully, Mass lived up my incredibly high expectations. This isn't a showy film. It's four people in a room talking about an event that changed their lives. They all lost something, but in very different ways.  The acting is incredible all around. Jay's anger is harsh, Gail's is harder for her to articulate. Richard is very matter of fact and Linda is here to understand. Yet, these characters aren't defined by these traits. They...

Superstar singer Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) is set to marry her fiancé and fellow singer Bastian (Maluma) in front of 20 million people while singing their new hit song. Charlie (Owen Wilson) is a math teacher stuck in a rut because his daughter thinks her step dad is cooler. Tagging along to Kat's concert is going to change his life. I'm not a rom com girl but something about the absurdity of this plot peaked my interest in the trailers. When it was announced that it would also stream on Peacock, I knew I'd watch. And I'm glad I did. While this full of the typical rom com clichés, I had fun. Strangely enough, it was John Bradley, who plays Kat's manager Colin that had me the most interested. I just love to see Samwell Tarly thriving post Game of Thrones. He was such a good dude. I feel like most movies make managers out to be awful and he was trying to help Kat every step of the way and look out for her best interests. It was wholeome. Lopez and Wilson had good ch...

Every now and then I’m fortunate enough to review a fellow movie bloggers’ work. I’ve done so in the past with Alex and Ruth . Now Chris ’ collection of shorts is getting a new re-release on DVD !  What I liked the most about this collection is seeing how Chris has progressed as a filmmaker. The earliest short was filmed in 2012, with the newest being in 2018. They're not connected in one linear story. And because there's such a stark difference in content, I didn't want to give them specific letter grades. Instead, here are my quick reviews of each one.  Kip - This revenge tale comes from Chris' comic series Velcro: The Ninja Cat . I can appreciate the creepy masks used in this one. It's very short and to the point and left me interested in what could come next.  The Red Scarf - This anime-inspired short is about a young girl who keeps dreaming of a man in a red scarf who tries to hurt her. She's desperate to understand these dreams. I liked the story here. I...

This weeks theme from Wandering Through the Shelves is another romantic trope! This week we're talking about romances with famous people and the rest of us regular folk. I don't love a lot of movies with this trope, but here's what I came up with.  1) Hairspray - Link may only be locally famous but we're counting him and Tracy. This is one of my favorite musicals.  2) Lost in Translation - Bob and Charlotte are quite the pair. While this might not necessarily be considered a romance, it's still a very deep connection. 3) Win a Date with Tad Hamilton - Funny story, I met Josh Duhamel around the time this came out and the person that introduced us mentioned I worked at the movie theater so I had to tell him I liked this. I lied, it's garbage. 

We're finally here! The 2022 Oscar nominations are upon us. I was mostly satisfied overall, but of course there were some snubs. Here's a list of the nominees + my quick thoughts. Best Picture Belfast CODA Don’t Look Up Drive My Car Dune King Richard Licorice Pizza Nightmare Alley The Power of the Dog West Side Story I was really thinking tick, tick...BOOM would be here, but Drive My Car is a huge surprise. I wish Passing would've gotten some love here. DMC is the only one I haven't seen of the bunch.  Actor in a Leading Role Javier Bardem - Being the Ricardos Benedict Cumberbatch - The Power of the Dog Andrew Garfield - tick, tick…Boom! Will Smith - King Richard Denzel Washington - The Tragedy of Macbeth BENNY BATCH! I'm very much on Team Cumberbatch this year. Denzel Washington's 10th nomination makes him the most nominated black man in history. BAFTAs, are you watching? Actress in a Leading Role Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye Olivia Colman - The Lo...

In 1960's New York, two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets fight for territory. They come from different backgrounds, the Jets are all white, lead by Riff. (Mike Faist) They come from poor families and are racists against anyone with skin darker than theirs. The Sharks, lead by Bernardo (David Alvarez) are Puerto Ricans trying to make it in the big city and are constantly at odds with the Jets. Bernadro's sister Maria (Rachel Zegler) meets and immediately falls for Tony,(Ansel Elgort) a jet fresh out of prison who no longer wants to live the way he did before. And this makes tensions rise even further. I'm not sure why I spent so much time explaining the plot when everyone knows what West Side Story was about. I guess I liked how much the film put the majority of the antagonism on the Jets. Growing up with the original, I heard so many "both sides are bad" arguments, and to me, one side was always vastly worse. Truthfully, I've never loved this musical. I wi...

I felt like I watched a TON of TV in January but really I just binged watched a lot of episodes at once. Only two of the shows I'm talking about I watched week to week. So here are some quick thoughts on the small screen.  The Book of Boba Fett - I've been listening to the opening theme on repeat all month. I really like the show. I think it does a good job of balancing legacy Star Wars with new and interesting things. They got *very* Mandalorian there for a minute, but I'm into it . Who knew Boba was such an animarl lover. The Landscapers - Olivia Colman is just a treasure. This is a murder mystery disguised as an art house flick. It's a short four episodes on HBO Max. I didn't love it, but I appreciated how they tried to make it different. Station Eleven -   *spoilers* Even though I loved the book, I really lost interest in the show as it kept going. The final episode is entirely different than the source novel. Honestly, I wanted to fast forward to the part whe...

We're starting a new edition over at Wandering Through The Shelves , and for the entire month of February we're talking romantic tropes. This is probably going to be hard for me. Up first, we're talking about the age old enemies to lovers trope. Honestly, I associate this with fan fiction more than any other medium at this point. Here's what I came up with. 1) 10 Things I Hate About You - My all time favorite rom com features two high school seniors who are polar opposites and frequently antagonize each other until they find themselves falling in love. I adore this movie.  2) Silver Linings Playbook - While not technically "enemies" there was enough animosity between the two leads for me to count it here. I really like this movie, it's held up really well for me over the years, even though I know plenty have soured on it.  3) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - The worst Star Wars movie is actually on brand this week. I'm shocked they actually went the...

Janis (Penelope Cruz) and Ana (Milena Smit) give birth on the same day. They're at very different stages in life. Janis is nearly 40, has a successful career and is delighted at becoming a mother. Something she never thought would happen. Ana is a minor and feels this is a mistake.  This is one of those "stay with me" movies. When you get the first hint about what's going on, you might have the urge to roll your eyes. I know I did. Director Pedro Almadovar is a very proactive filmmaker so I expected things to get real bad, but what I was given was my favorite film of his yet. If this movie had ended any other way, I think I would've lost my mind. I was so invested in the story and I knew there was only one satisfying end. (or as satisfying as a story like this can conclude) We could've gloomed and doomed for two hours but Janis and Ana are both very complex characters. Janis especially, since we see the film through her eyes. She doesn't always make the be...