Rambling Film

What a night for the Emmys! Dan and Eugene Levy stuck to banter instead of annoying skits, the Emmys honored several archetypes throughout the show as presenters, which was a nice touch, and there were still a few surprises. Below is a list of winners, plus my thoughts. Of the 20 categories I predicted, I got 13 right.  Outstanding Comedy Series Abbott Elementary The Bear Curb Your Enthusiasm Hacks Only Murders in the Building Palm Royale  Reservation Dogs The biggest shock of the night was also the last award announced. After The Bear broke the record for single wins for a comedy, they didn't take home the top prize. Honestly, I'm shocked. Even with the "Bear isn't a comedy" argument, I still thought it would prevail. I can't say I'm too upset because Hacks is an excellent show. But wow, what a surprise.  Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary Ayo Edebiri, The Bear Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building Maya Rudo

Official synopsis:   Ada (Michelle Colman Padron), who has a proclivity for plants uses her talents to take care of her ailing mother Mirren (Eloisa Cardona). When Mirren dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, Ada spends the next seven years isolating herself from the world. One day, she hears a mysterious song, drawing her to a hidden creek, as well as Wren (Taylor Freeman), a spirited teenager with whom she develops a close friendship.  I Watched Her Grow's crew was more than 50% women, and 75% of those identifying as BIPOC. Because of this, it was awarded the prestigious  ReFrame stamp.  I love to see this type of representation in film, and how wonderful for first time director Shea Formanes. Formanes has written quite a few op-eds, ones that I had read even before finding out she directed this film, so I'm not surprised at all that the story is the highpoint. It's part coming-of-age, part sci-fi fantasy. At a very brisk 66 minutes, it never has time to be dull.

It's Emmy prediction time! With the awards right around the corner (Sep 15th) It's time to guess who I think will win, and in some cases, who should win. Brace yourselves, it's going to be a lot of the same show over and over. Outstanding Comedy Series Abbott Elementary The Bear Curb Your Enthusiasm Hacks Only Murders in the Building Palm Royale  Reservation Dogs What We Do in the Shadows Who will and should win: The Bear Keep in mind, this is for season 2, so The Bear is the clear winner for me. If this were season 3, it would be a different story. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary Ayo Edebiri, The Bear Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building Maya Rudolph, Loot Jean Smart, Hacks Kristen Wiig, Palm Royale Who will and should win: Ayo Edebiri Ayo is finally in the right category and although Quinta Brunson is strong competition, she should take it here.  Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Matt Berry, What We Do in the Sha

Official synopsis:  In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy (Izaac Wang) learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. (Joan Chen) When I first saw the trailer for Didi, I knew it was something I wanted to take my son to despite the R rating. (which is mostly for swearing) I felt like it might speak to him as a boy about to start his teen years. So we went together, and chatted about the film afterwards. Like mother like son, I guess, because neither of us particularly liked this film very much. It does serve as a visual "not to do" list of how you treat people. I talk a lot about kindness with my son, and how being mean and trying too hard doesn't make you cool. Kindness gets you a long way. Being a douchebag doesn't, and Didi kind of sucks. All teenagers kind of suck in a way, but we don't really see Didi get better. We know he'