Rambling Film

No new theater watches for me this week so here's what I'm watching on the small screen.  Half Man (Episode 3) We have a 3 year time jump from episode 2. Niall is finishing college, and Rueben is going to trial for his attack on Alby. I felt we learned so much more about Rueben in this episode. We already knew he didn't like his father, but the reasons for why it runs so deep really came out in this episode. Ep 3 was frustrating to watch. It's hard watching Niall contemplate lying, it's hard to watch his mom try to manipulate him into doing so, and of course it's hard to see Alby again post his assault. Bless Richard Gadd's brilliant mind though, this is the best show I'm watching on TV right now. I'm glad we'll start seeing more of Gadd and Bell next week. Nothing against the younger lads, they've been great, but I really want more of adult Niall and Rueben. The Testaments (Commitment) After last week focused heavily on Lydia's back st...

Official Synopsis:  Two unlikely allies (Betty Clark and Jessica Zitter) work to bring curiosity, connection, and compassion to a broken healthcare system, one patient at a time. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to Chaplains in hospitals. I didn't even realize they are mostly non-denominational and serve everyone. I just assumed, since the U.S puts such a heavy focus on Christianity that they would be too. I'm sure some are. But Betty Clark prays and shows compassion to everyone. While I came in skeptical, she easily swayed me. Jessica Zitter, the titular doctor and director of this doc is initially dismissive of Betty. When Betty calls her out on a microaggression in the work place, Zitter at first gets angry, then realizes she was wrong and apologies. And that's one of the main points of this documentary. Acknowledging your biases, and trying to move through them. We see plenty examples of this through their interactions with patients. A black woman with sickle cell ...

Official synopsis:  Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) reunites with Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) as they navigate their careers amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing. When this was initially announced as a sequel, I had zero interest in seeing it. With so many legacy TV shows and movies doing reboots lately, it's just not something I'm ever moved to see, no matter how much I loved the original product. But, like I'm sure the studio would have it, the marketing began to sway me, and suddenly I was accepting of a sequel to a film so iconic. Get my clown make up ready, because I loved this. I went into it with expectations on the lower side and I came out enjoying it almost as much as I did the original. (No Adrien Grener really helps) The fan service to the original was integrated well and kept brief. The story ended up being a lot more intriguing than I gave it credit for. Choosing to focus on the decline of journalism in print was a good choice. I think there'...

  Official Synopsis:  An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy. What I knew going in: The basic plot I worked at a movie theater in high school when the 2004 remake of this came out, but I never watched it. All I knew is that they changed a lot of major plot points to modernize it. I figured when I was ready to take the Manchurian plunge, I'd start with the original. And I'm not going to lie, there were times where I wished I was watching Denzel instead of Frank Sinatra or Laurence Harvey, because lets be real they don't hold a candle to him, BUT thankfully this is a solid political thriller overall. It did a good job making you guess and building tension, though not without a few red herrings. It's the ladies that are the biggest draw and also the biggest question mark of this film. Angela Lansbury give a great villain performance. Her scheming Eleanor Shaw is by far the most memorable characte...

Official synopsis : Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer, Sam  Anselm (Michaela Coel), on the eve of her comeback performance.   Coel, Hathway, beautiful costumes, pop music, horror elements, could anything be more made for me? That's what I hoped to find with David Lowery's latest. He's a director whose films I've enjoyed in the past. So did he do it? For the most part, I was absolutely vibing with everything. Coel is giving a Shakespearean performance. Her monologues are intense and full of intrigue. Hathaway is broken, but comes alive on stage. She's very committed to her role as a pop star. Especially during a particular dance number that's stripped quite bare. Lowery wants the audience to have their own interpretations to what's happening now, what happened then, he leaves a lot of room for us to fill in the blanks. Almost too much room...