Rambling Film

Based on the extraordinary lives of twins June and Jennifer Gibbons. (Leah Mondesir-Simmonds and Eva-Arianna Baxter as kids, Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrence as adults) The girls grew up in Wales and refused to talk to anyone else but each other. My indie theater got this film for exactly 2 weeks last summer and of course those were two weeks were I wasn't in town to catch it. I was really bummed at the time because I wanted to support this, but turns out it was a blessing in disguise, because I would've been so very lost during this movie. You know what I should never have to do during a film? Pause it, and Google the true life story this is based on to understand what the fuck is going on. I am so frustrated with this film. It's the epitome of style over substance. The opening credits are seriously cute and unique, the film makes good use of stop motion animation occasionally but you can't ride on your artistic merits alone. You have to have a coherent story and thi...

Maren (Taylor Russell) is a young woman with a condition she can't explain. She embarks on a cross country road trip and crosses paths with Lee, (Timothee Chalamet) a drifter who is in the same boat.  Luca Guadagnino is a director that endlessly fascinates me, despite the fact that I have liked exactly one of his films. When I read he was directing what is essentially a "cannibal love story" I knew I'd have to see it. Reuniting with his Call Me By Your Name lead in Chalamet was the icing on the cake. Maren and Lee are both very compelling leads who have to figure out quite a bit with zero guidance in how to do so. The screenplay, however tries its best to contradict that. Maren feels alone, her father and her constantly move after her episodes but in the span of a few weeks she stumbles across 4 other people with her same condition. It made it hard to believe that she never came across anyone like her before. It's just a weird thing that's hard to ignore, and ...

Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) are two investigative reporters for the New York Times who broke one of the most significant stories of the last decade...the open secret that is the the pervert known as Harvey Weinstein. Despite having two fantastic actresses in the lead performances, this film is currently struggling at the box office, and I get it. Films centered around sexual assault are a hard sell. I would guess the majority of the population doesn't want to watch movies about that. Thankfully, this isn't a film that's showing any of it on screen, but it is showing women at their most vulnerable moments retelling it. In some cases, even the real life survivors like Ashley Judd turn up to play themselves. I'm torn on this. Director Maria Schrader has made some excellent features in the past. Her limited series Unorthodox is one of the best mini series I've ever seen, and her last film  I'm Your Man was fun too. Here, she doesn...

What I knew going in: That it's arguably Jean Seberg's most popular film Michel (Jean-Paul Belmando) is a small time thief who makes a big mistake and has to go on the run. He reunites with his friend, an American journalism student living in France, Patricia (Jean Seberg)  I've been sitting with this movie for a few weeks before writing down my thoughts. I found it incredibly messy. I had read on IMDb that director Jean-Luc Godard didn't have his script finished when he started shooting, and I'd believe that. It's very disjointed....but I didn't hate it? There was something lovely about this movie that I just have trouble putting my finger on. I certainly didn't like Michel, but I adored Patricia. She was the interesting one. It's funny when a movie does that to you. I might chalk it up to just enjoying French movies in general. It's a beautiful language and it always looks so stylish. I know this was a big deal at the time. It seems it was an a...

Mrs. Wright (Florence Pugh) is an English nurse sent to Ireland in the 1800's to observe a miracle. A young girl Anna (Kila Lord Cassidy) has gone 4 months without eating. The town doctors and priests want to conduct a study on how this is possible. Mrs. Wright is a woman of science, so she believes something nefarious is at play, but the two women end up changing each others lives. I've never read the novel this was based on, though I did enjoy the author's previous book (and movie) Room . Netflix should've put more fanfare behind this one, because it's very good. It's subtle, and at times you want to strange more than one person on screen, but I found myself completely enthralled.  I do have to complain about something though, and if you've seen this film, you can tell me I'm being petty. I won't feel bad, but the first and final shots of this movie are awful. Director  Sebastián Lelio forces a bookend into this film like a toddler trying to shove ...

Awards Season is officially kicking off! Below are the nominations for the Spirit Awards. This year they went with gender inclusive categories, so there's only one award for Lead Performance and one award for Supporting, which honestly I don't love because I want more winners. I'm curious to see what the reception to it over all will be. That being said, I love that they added a breakout category.  BEST FEATURE  Bones and All Everything Everywhere All At Once Our Father, the Devil TÁR Women Talking Next Best Picture pointed out that The Whale was eligible here and didn't make it, which I didn't realize at first. That's surprising with the amount of buzz Fraiser is getting for it. Still, I've only seen EEAAO and Tar here, and I'm happy with their nominations.  BEST FIRST FEATURE  Aftersun Emily the Criminal The Inspection Murina Palm Trees and Power Lines I really want to see Emily the Criminal, and I'll probably try to search out the rest of these be...

Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) are a couple going to an inclusive restaurant on a remote island run by famed Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) Tyler is a huge fan, Margot doesn't get the hype. But they soon find out there's more than just a fancy meal going on here. The Menu had one of the best trailers I'd seen in ages so I immediately knew I wanted to see it. Not mention I love taking a good food pic. You won't find me forking out $1200 a person like the people in this film to get a fancy meal, but I appreciate it. I was a picky eater growing up, so I have a lot to make up for now when it comes to being an adventurous eater.  The Menu is a hard movie to describe. Is it horror? Thriller? I think I'd call it a suspenseful drama. You find out what the catch is very early on, but then you have to sit with it, anticipating what's next. It's very well done. The acting across the board is excellent. Each different table of people has different per...

  This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is book adaptations. I'm back on the correct list this week, hopefully. This is another reoccurring theme so I decided that this week I'm going to talk about book adaptions that came out this year that I didn't care for. 1) Where The Crawdads Sing - Everyone and them mom was raving about this book at one point, and I never read it. After watching the movie, I can see where this might have been a compelling mystery to read, but I don't think the film did a very good job of laying the groundwork for the big reveal.  2) Luckiest Girl Alive - This book I did read and strongly disliked. The author really wants to be Gillian Flynn and she just can't hack it. This is one of those rare cases where the movie works better, but I still didn't love it.  3) My Policeman - I reviewed this yesterday, an I already forgot what I wrote. This movie is incredibly forgettable. 

  A young policeman, Tom (Harry Styles) must balance his life with his wife, Marion (Emma Corrin) and his secret affair with Patrick (David Dawson) in the 1950's. In a more current timeline, Patrick has suffered a stroke and has come to live with Marion and Tom. This forces them to confront their past. This has a very similar structure as The Notebook. With the older versions of the story starting it, and the younger ones in flashbacks. Like The Notebook , I felt a complete disconnected with these older versions. They don't get a lot to work with, just the left over trauma, so they make for a boring watch. Not that My Policeman in itself is a very interesting film. It's dreadfully dull. You're meant to sympathize with all involved, but I had a hard time liking anyone. Especially Patrick. I felt like I should've felt the worst for him. A gay man who isn't allowed to live his life. That's awful, but the film doesn't really reconcile with how much of a dic...

After 14 year old Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) is brutally murdered in Mississippi, his mother Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler) vows to show the entire world the brutality her son faced, and do everything in her power to get him justice. Emmett Till's story is still very relevant today. The anti-lynching act in his name JUST passed this year. Carolyn Bryant,(played here by Haley Bennett) the woman responsible for his death admitted she lied, yet the courts decided once again to protect her and not charge her. Everyone involved with Till's killing got to live their lives consequence free. It's disgusting. Knowing all this history made Till hard for me to sit through at times. Sometimes biopics make me antsy when I know justice won't be served. It's like I want to get it over with. To not watch injustice after injustice and to just come out the other side. That's not the film's fault, it's my own. But watching it still feels important. Danielle Deadwyler gives a car...

In the wake of her brother King T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) death from an illness, Shuri (Letitia Wright) feels lost. She tried to recreate the purple heart shaped herb to save him, but it didn't work. Now, one year later Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) tries to keep Wakanda together while Shuri struggles with her faith. With Americans wanting access to vibranium, they start seeking it out underwater. This brings in Namor (Tenoch Huerta) a god like figure who rules an underwater kingdom. He seeks out Wakanda to help him wage war on the surface world. You have to hand it to director Ryan Coogler. He had an impossible task making this film. Black Panther was such a cultural phenomenon and to lose your lead actor and friend who inspired so many two weeks after you finish the original script is devastating. I think he handles it with grace. This film is about grief, and is a lovely send off to Chadwick. It's the most somber MCU film to date. He takes his time (the film is ...

  This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves are movies about businesses. I love a good fast paced work place movie so my picks came very quickly to me. 1) The Big Short - I've been wanting to rewatch this film about investors betting on the US housing market for a while. Maybe talking about it today will give me the push to finally get around to it.  2) The Wolf of Wall Street - I was recently talking to someone about my favorite Scorcese movie and this one is definitely near the top. 3) The Social Network - Remember when Jesse Eisenberg was so good at playing Mark Zuckerberg people refused to see him as anything else?

In 1917, a young German solider Paul (Felix Kammerer) is headed off to war on the Western front in France. He and his friends are bright eyed and ready to serve their country, and we follow them through the horrors of war that await them. I've never seen the Oscar winning 1930's version nor have I read the novel, so I can't compare them to this. But what I can say is that this is an absolutely incredible film. I had wondered if it would feel similar to 1917 , another recent WWI epic, but it takes good care not to feel repetative. Kammerer really runs the gauntlet with this performance. When we meet Paul, dude is way too excited to go to war. Propaganda will do that to you I guess. Then when he witnesses the hell it actually is, it's like we see the live drained from his eyes in real time. Suddenly he's a sunken in shell of his former self. His only moments of levity are the occasional jest with his friends and comrades, but there's always a sense of dread in the...

In this 100% true and in no way exaggerated biopic, we learn story of the legendary singer we know today; Weird Al (Richard Aaron Anderson as a child, David Bloom as a teen and Daniel Radcliffe as an adult.) I can count the number of parody movies I enjoy on one hand and lucky for me, Weird can join that small batch of films. It perfectly parodies the music biopic. The harsh parent, obnoxious record label execs, the fast track to fame. It even managed to capture the annoyance I always feel when we get to the stars inevitable downfall into substance abuse before he is saved from himself and comes back to give us that one last hit again. It's very by the books, but it's meant to be. And true to its name, it's fucking weird. Would you expect it to be anything else? Daniel Radcliffe is such a showman. Though he's not actually singing, he performs well and I loved watching him. And of course my queen Evan Rachel Wood shows up to play Madonna and that is exactly as amazing a...

Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brenden Gleeson) live on the small island of Inisherin and have mostly been inseparable. Then Colm decides to abruptly end their friendship, and Padraic doesn't take it very well. It's funny, I saw Farrell, Gleeson and director Martin McDonagh's names and immediately knew I was going to see this, but I realize now that I don't think I even watched a trailer for it ahead of time. I went in as blind as you can go. I've enjoyed every single one of McDonagh's films and this is no exception. Besides reuniting his magical duo in Farrell and Gleeson, McDonagh wrote something that is very original. I can't say I can recall any other stories like this. And it's so very Irish. I love that about it the most. Perfectly dreary with sharp humor and occasionally morbid, The Banshees of Inisherin fits perfectly within McDonagh's filmography. Farrell and Gleeson are both great, as are Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condan in their supporti...

Halloween season is sadly over. As we move on to the next month, here's my recap of what I've been watching on the small screen. House of the Dragon - God, it feels good to love something from Game of Thrones again. I really enjoyed this season. The finale was powerful and I hate that we have to wait until 2024 to get the next season. Can HBO fast track this thing? Rings of Power - I had to laugh at who actually ended up being Sauron. Maybe it wasn't a mystery for those who read the books, but I haven't yet dove into them so of course it happened to be 1/2 of a couple I was shipping. I'm looking forward to the next season of this as well. It's not as strong as House of the Dragon, some stories were just dull, but I'm really excited to see where it goes. The Patient - I finished this mini series on Hulu and boy that ending...We're divided in House Rambling here. I didn't mind it. I expected something bleak. My husband flat out hated it and said it m...

  This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is JUICY! Suggested by Birgit , this week we're talking about movies where the actors in them did not like each other. This sounds like a great trip down Google for me. Here's what I came up with.  1) Mad Max: Fury Road - Leads Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy in their own words "fucking went at it" during filming. After putting some years behind them, it seems both feel a lot more sympathy for each other now. That's good, because this movie was awesome.  2) Kramer vs Kramer - Meryl Streep already had issues with costar Dustin Hoffman before he got way too into a scene and actually slapped her. That shot is in the film, and Streep never forgave him for it.  3) The Notebook - Apparently Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams didn't get along at the start of this movie. Obviously they got over it, because they dated afterwards and had that ICONIC kiss at the MTV Movie Awards. 

Amy (Jessica Chastain) is a third shift nurse in the ICU who is hiding a heart condition. She hasn't worked at the hospital long enough to qualify for health insurance, so she's trying to stick it out in secret. Her new colleague, Charlie (Eddie Redmayne) finds out about this, and does everything in his power to help her. Which makes it that much harder for Amy when she suspects that Charlie may be involved in some unexplained deaths of patients.  Being the basic bitch that I am, I enjoy True Crime. This film is based off a real case that I was not familiar with beforehand. As usual, I'm somehow still shocked that an institution can cover up this much murder and get away with it. But here we are. The Good Nurse is currently streaming on Netflix which is exactly where it belongs. This is a perfectly fine "at home movie." Chastain and Redmayne are both very capable actors with excellent chemistry giving great performances. It's not a mystery, Charlie is accused...