Rambling Film

Official synopsis:  A fateful decision made in 1960s China reverberates in the present, where a group of scientists partner with a detective to confront an existential planetary threat. I've been cautiously excited for this series since its announcement. On one side, the series creators let me down massively by rushing the ending of my beloved Game of Thrones, but here they have a completed 3 book series to work with. One that I've also read. So how did they do? I really enjoyed the first season, which is available to stream now on Netflix. I think the changes they made work overall. Instead of following one person with a ton of internal dialogue, he's essentially split into several different people. We get Saul, (Jovan Adepo) Jin, (Jess Hong) Auggie (Eiza Gonzalez), Will (Alex Sharp), and Jack. (John Bradley) Benedict Wong plays fan favorite Da Shi (though they never call him "Da." He's "Clarence" here, despite being credited otherwise. Ye Wenjie is...

Official synopsis:  A recently widowed woman (Ellen Burstyn) is on the road with her precocious young son (Alfred Lutter III), determined to make a new life for herself as a singer. In my quest to watch Scorsese's older works, I've finally landed on this film, and honestly I should've started with it because I've enjoyed it far more than I did  Raging Bull or Mean Streets . Ellen Burstyn is a gem, and Alice is going through it as a character. One minute she's happy and hopefully, then reality comes crashing down on her. Not to mention she has terrible taste in men and a son who definitely talks too much. She's dealing with a lot, and I'm not surprised at all that Burstyn took home an Oscar for this. I liked the little things it said about female friendships. Alice's goodbye scene with her friend Bea at the beginning is the film's most emotional moment. Alice eventually becoming friends with her fellow waitresses is another highlight. Even the scene ...

Official synopsis:  A docu-series that uncovers the toxic culture behind some of the most iconic children's shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like many, I grew up watching Nickelodeon in the 90's. One of the shows heavily featured on this docu-series is All That, which I counted as one of my favorites. But the rumblings of showrunner Dan Schneider's abusive behavior can only be compared Weinstein's; an open secret on the internet. It's something I've followed for quite some time. There are numerous videos, Twitter-threads, reddit posts, and even a bizarre CDAN comment on how shitty Schneider is that people swear is from Robert Downey Jr of all people. Needless to say, when I heard this was coming out, I knew I'd be watching. The series consists of four one-hour episodes, starting with All That's various seasons, before covering The Amanda Show, Drake and Josh, iCarly, Zoey 101, Victorious and Sam & Cat. Actors from All That and The Amanda Show...

Official synopsis:  A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms Let's get the elephant out of the room right away. There is a lot of chatter online regarding the use of AI in this film. Per the filmmakers, the graphic design team experimented with AI to create three title card sequences. Though other comments online say there's more than that, but I haven't been able to find proof of it. Personally, I think we can all agree AI art sucks, but I don't think it's worth seeing an indie film bomb at the box office over it. Especially when the use of it is so small. I'm glad people speak against it, but let's not tank a film that already has tough competition at the box office. Not to mention, the film is pretty great. David Dastmalchian is an actor I'm so familiar with in creepier or comedic supporting roles, so seeing him shine as a 70's TV talk show host was a welcomed change. He leads this...

Official synopsis: Backpackers Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) take a job in a remote Australian pub for some extra cash and are confronted with a bunch of unruly locals and a situation that grows out of control. A synopsis like that sounds intimidating, at least to me, but thankfully we have a woman behind the camera in Kitty Green. With her, while the unease is there, nothing is gratuitous. The film was inspired by a documentary made in 2016 called Hotel Coolgardie. I have not seen it, so I cannot compare. I find myself appreciating what this film isn’t more than enjoying what it was. While Green’s previous film The Assistant (also starring Garner) was a quiet, uneasy film like this, The Royal Hotel did not grip me in the same way. The men are creeps, one friend is a partier, the other reserved, it’s very standard. At one point, I paused the film and realized I only had 33 minutes left. An hour had gone by where not much at all had happened. Garner and Henwick are goo...

I LIVED for the I'm Just Ken performance. It might be the best Oscar  Thankfully I missed the majority of the opening monologue which I'm sure was far too long. I went 20/23 with my picks, which I think is a new record for me. Below are the winners + my thoughts. 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 Very happy with this win! I'm glad Emma Thomas' dream came true! 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 Finally!!!! Best Actress Annette Bening – Nyad Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan – Maestro Emma Stone – Poor Things You could tell by Emma's face that even she was shocked she won this. I wonder if the Killers of the Flower Moon team reg...

True Detective has been a highly polarizing show on HBO. The first season was near perfect and the subsequent anthologies have created endless dialogue about how "they're never as good as the first." Despite the very high expectations everyone puts on this series, I've enjoyed every season of True Detective that's been put out. The newest season - subtitled Night Country has been a ratings hit for HBO, and a very hot topic online. No major spoilers here - I will say, I don't know what some of y'all were bitching about, because I thought the ending was pretty satisfying.  Our detectives this season are the hardened Liz Danvers (Jody Foster) a police chief who fucks and Deputy Evangline Navarro (Kali Reis) who cannot shake a previous case. When a group of scientists are found frozen in a pile outside their small town of Ennis, Alaska. Dangers and Navarro find themselves working together again.  Night Country likely could've stood on its own without bei...

It's been another year of tracking down all the Oscar nominated Shorts! Thanks to my pals over at r/oscarsdeathrace as always for helping me fill in the gaps with finding these films online. I've broken them down into each category and ranked them from best to worst. Have you seen any of these? Tell me what you think! Best Animated Short Film Our Uniform - The clear favorite for me. I loved how unique the animation was in this! And at 7 minutes, it's the shortest watch of the bunch. Very easy to enjoy. A Ninety-Five Senses  -There's a lot of feelings packed into 13 minutes. The animation is very unique and fun to watch. Not a fan of Tim Blake Nelson's hillbilly voice performance though. B War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko -  This is the most emotional I've been over an animal death for a while, but I suspect the music used is giving this a lot of goodwill. Animation is cool, though. C+ Pachyderm -  The animation was not very pleasing to look...

We're a week away from the Oscars so it's time to get predicting! Here's who I think will win on Movie's biggest night, and in some cases who should win instead. 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 Who will and should win: Oppenheimer Oppenheimer has all the momentum now. I'd be shocked if something else won. 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 Who will and should win: Christopher Nolan Like the film itself, he has all the momentum and it's quiet shocking he doesn't have an Oscar yet. Best Actress Annette Bening – Nyad Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan – Maestro Emma Stone – Poor Things Who will: Lily Gladstone Who should ...

Official synopsis:  Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Director Denis Villenueve's first Dune entry was a welcome surprise for me. I've never read the books, nor seen any of the older versions. I loved the film and am perfectly fine to have this as "my" Dune experience so to speak. So to say I was excited for part II is an understatement. After may delays, Part II is finally here and is absolutely worth the long wait. Dune: Part II is stunning to look at. The cinematography, the VFX, all of it is rich and beautiful. The way they chose to introduce the new antagonist in a black and white scene (shot in infrared) was very cool. But Dune is more than what we see, the actors are the beating hearts. Chalamet continues to prove every day that he's leading man material. Paul is in an impossible situation and Chalamet makes you feel it. His chemistry with Z...