Rambling Film

Official synopsis:  A screenwriter, Adam (Andrew Scott) drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with a mysterious neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal) as he then discovers his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) appear to be living just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before. My theater advertised getting this for one week only, so of course I had to rush out to see it.  I've been in love with Andrew Scott's work ever since I saw him in BBC's Sherlock . This might be his best work yet.  Do away with the "how" when watching this film. It doesn't matter. What matters is why Adam is feeling what he's feeling and seeing what he's seeing. Scott gives such a nuanced, heartbreaking performance. Can you imagine your adult self having the type of conversations he's having with his parents? Mine are still around, and even I can't image connecting with them on a deep level like this. There's a scene where his mother ...

What I knew going in: That it is known as one of Michael Mann's best films. Happy 2024! This is my first Blind Spot pick of the new year. Coming in a bit late post wise, but better late than never. Heat is one of those movies that my husband and I kept talking about wanting to see, but never getting around to it. With the end of the month creeping up on me, I decided to pull the trigger. Michael Mann is a director I needed to give a second chance. Not because I disliked his films, no. He's made several good ones, but because I never put much thought into what he was doing behind the camera. With Ferrari coming out recently, It made me want to see more of his work. What surprised me the most about Heat was that it kept me intrigued for all 3 hours of its run time. I won't lie, I looked at that before hitting "play" and immediately assumed I'd be bored for part of it. But I was wrong. I should've known Al Pacino and Robert De Niro would keep me entertaine...

Official Synopsis: Hen (Saoirse Ronan) and Junior (Paul Mescal) farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger ( Mid Sized Sedan Aaron Pierre) shows up at their door with a startling proposal. When I first saw the trailer for this, I like many couldn't help but compare it to the Black Mirror episode "Beyond The Sea." And you know what? Fine. That was an interesting concept. Saoirse is one of my favorite actors and Mescal is a gorgeous up-and-coming, what could go wrong? Well, apparently a lot. First, if you're going to specifically tell your audience that this film is set in the American Midwest, maybe try harder to hide the fact that you are clearly shooting in Australia. Even someone who has never lived in that part of the U.S would likely be able to point out that something just looks off with the scenery.  Second, it feels like large chunks of story are mis...

We made it to the Oscars! As always, the Academy is up to some truly clown shit in some categories. Here are my thoughts on Today's nominations. Nomination list via Next Best Picture .  Best Picture American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest I personally would throw out Maestro and put The Iron Claw here, but clearly no one cares what I think. I think these were solidly everyone's predictions. The Zone of Interest was the only "maybe." Best Director Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall The Academy decided to fill their one female director quota and not look beyond that. The fact that Greta Gerwig isn't here is pretty egregious considering how well Barbie did. In my unpopular opinion, I'd put her here over Scorsese. I...

I'm back after a short time away with my Top 10 Films of 2023! There are three films from my "must see" list that I haven't gotten a chance to see yet, Sisu, The Zone of Interest, and All Of Us Strangers. Sorting my Top 3 ended up being much harder than I anticipated. I normally don't rank my Top 10, but I'm trying to make the effort to do so moving forward. Consider them tied, basically. Let me know if any of these are your favorites too. Honorable Mentions: The Starling Girl, The Future, Four Daughters, Hunger, Across the Spider-verse, Judy Blume Forever, Dream Scenario, Poor Things. Barbie Barbie was not only a delightfully fun movie to watch, but it was an entire moment for Barbie lovers everywhere. I never expected to feel so much watching it.  May December It's not often that I see a film and wish for a sequel immediately, but I didn't want to leave Charles Meltons' character in this. I didn't like some of the campier choices, but I want...

Official synopsis:  A journey of curious tensions and bonds between two and at times three interesting characters all on their own path. That synopsis is a bit vague, huh? What this film is really about is an animal trainer Jim (Zachary Quinto) his movie-star chimpanzee Spanky, (Phoenix Notary - yes, this is a child in a chimp costume and I'm assuming they have some relation to movement coach/CGI whiz Terry Notary) and the serial killer, Bobby (Jacob Elordi) who he picks up hitchhiking on route 66.  Tonally, this film is all over the place. It starts with an unknown narrator and a murder, making you wonder how dark it's going to get. Then Quinto shows up with this goofy ass attempt at a Midwestern Accent and it's impossible to take him seriously with that. It doesn't feel natural coming from him. Especially with how straight faced Jim is. It's hard for me not to see Spock when I see Quinto but the voice and the mannerisms just did not match for me. Elordi fairs bett...

The SAG nominations are here and boy where there some surprises. Here is a full list of the nominations + my thoughts. OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE American Fiction Barbie The Color Purple Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Half of Killers of the Flower Moon's native actors aren't even nominated due to them not getting their own title card, which is silly. I'm surprised Poor Things missed here. That's the biggest shock to me.  OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Annette Bening – Nyad Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon Carey Mulligan – Maestro Margot Robbie – Barbie Emma Stone – Poor Things I wish I could replace Annette and Carey with Greta Lee and Aujanue Ellis-Taylor. Not to say they're bad, they definitely are not. But those performances resonated with me more. OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Bradley Cooper – Maestro Colman Domingo – Rustin Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers Cillia...

Official synopsis:  Set in the summer of 1957, with Enzo Ferrari's (Adam Driver) auto empire in crisis, the ex-racer turned entrepreneur pushes himself and his drivers to the edge as they launch into the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy. I don't know anything about cars or racing. Had Adam Driver not been starring in this, I wouldn't have made it a theater watch. But there I was, ass in seat, and enjoying the world director Michael Mann created.  Not knowing much about Ferrari himself helped. I'm sure those who follow knew what tragedies were coming, but for me it was all fresh. The racing scenes especially were very well directed.  Driver is great, and he has excellent chemistry with Penelope Cruz, who plays his ex-wife Laura. Or rather, his current wife whom he's cheating on extensively with Lina (Shailene Woodley, in the most tragic accent since Kevin Costner in Robin Hood) If a non-car person like me can enjoy this, I imagine fans of raci...

The Globes started out with the more horrendous host they've ever had. I think all but one of his jokes landed, then he started making excuses for himself on stage which just made it all worst. It was painful. I went 14/27 with my predictions. Below are the winners + my thoughts. BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA Anatomy Of A Fall Killers Of The Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives The Zone Of Interest This was one of the easier ones to pick and I'm so glad it won.    BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY Air American Fiction Barbie The Holdovers May December Poor Things I really thought the Globes would go hard for Barbie, but I should've known the foreign voters would resonate with Poor Things more. I still think The Holdovers and American Fiction are the two best films here, but I'm not mad about Poor Things. It's great too. BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE Bradley Cooper – Maestro Greta Gerwig – Barbie Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer ...

That's a wrap on 2023!  Amadeus , The Big Cit y, and Happy Together were my three favorite films from my 2023 list. Below is what I plan on watching for 2024. I say "plan" because unlike previous years, 2023 threw a wrench in my list. Movies got removed from streaming or were no longer available at my local library. You may notice a few titles that are back again this year because I couldn't find them last year. I'm just going to hope for the best, but I may end up with a last minute sub in there. 1) The Last Picture Show 2) La Dolce Vita 3) Valley of the Dolls 4) Notorious 5) The Silence 6) Heat 7) Eyes Without A Face 8) Daughters of the Dust 9) Rebecca (1940) 10)The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 11) Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 12) Forever A Woman What do you think of my list? Have you seen any of these films? Do you have any substitute suggestions for when Streaming inevitably screws me again? 

It's Golden Globe prediction time! Coming to you a little late because that's just what my life has been like recently. There's a chance that I might not be able to watch the show live, which will massively bum me out, but just in case - here's who I think will in and in some cases who should win instead.  BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA Anatomy Of A Fall Killers Of The Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives The Zone Of Interest Who will and should win: Oppenheimer We're in a Barbenheimer world and while there's some great films and Maestro in this list, Oppenheimer still reigns supreme as the best.  BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY Air American Fiction Barbie The Holdovers May December Poor Things Who will win: Barbie Who should win: The Holdovers or American Fiction Barbie might be the lockiest lock for the Globes tonight. I do prefer Holdovers and American Fiction, but I won't be mad when Barbie wins. It is the year of Barbenheimer after all.  BEST D...