Rambling Film

Why isn't anyone listening to me? It's 1974 and Christine Chubbuck (Rebecca Hall) is a reporter for a small news station in Sarasota, FL. She wants to remain passionate about her job, but direction from her boss, Michael (Tracy Letts) means she needs to start reporting grittier subjects and not the friendly think pieces she has been doing. She struggles with depression, she's recently found out she needs to have an ovary removed, thus ending her dream of having children, and she has a crush on the anchor, George (Michael C. Hall) and doesn't know how to go about it.  A film like this walks a thin line on being exploitative. It's no spoiler that Christine is famous because she shot herself in the head on live TV. But it never treads into that territory. Instead, it presents us with an interesting, albeit frustrating look on mental illness and how some people just don't get help. It's hard watching Christine try to verbalize her problems. It's h...

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is about painters. I was never good at painting myself. I do spend a lot of time going to local art galleries and fantasizing about having enough money to fill my house with abstract art. Here are a few of my favorite movies about painters. 1) Factory Girl This film is about Edie Sedgwick when she first arrives in New York, then becomes Andy Warhol's muse. Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce give amazing performances. This film is severely underrated.  2) Girl With The Pearl Earring This is an interesting film about a servant of a painter. I love the cast in this. Just ignore Cillian Murphy's terrible wig.  3) Exit Through The Gift Shop This documentary about the famed street artist Banksy is so different. Quite like him, to be honest. Plus it has an amazing title. 

Our mission is not complete. In the late 1500's Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) is no longer sending updates from Japan, where he was trying to spread Christianity. Fathers Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver) travel from Portugal to Japan in secret to find out what happened to him after hearing what they think is slander. Christianity is outlawed in Japan, and while there's was a few believers who shelter Rodrigues and Garupe, there was even more trials for them. At this point, we all know this was a passion project 20+ years in the making for director Martin Scorcese. Having loved all of his films, I can say this one wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, Silence is not a bad film but for me it was a very boring one. It's easily the most un-Scorcese film I've ever seen. There's a few shots here and there that are very "him" but otherwise he approaches this film completely different. The thing for me was that the story just w...

The SAGS have come and gone. Tonight was the night of amazing speeches. All the nominees got a ton of time and it's hard for me to pick a favorite. I imagine our DFTOUS will be going on a 3:00am twitter bitchfest after all the shade thrown at him during this award show. It was glorious.  How did I do in my predictions? 7/13. I blame The Crown. Here is a list of the nominees and winners. The winners are in blue.  Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Captain Fantastic Fences Hidden Figures Manchester By The Sea Moonlight I called this. I was rooting for Moonlight, though I would've been happy with any of these films minus Manchester winning. I'm so happy for Hidden Figures though, how can you not  be? It's such a wonderful and important film.  Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Amy Adams - Arrival Emily Blunt, - The Girl on the Train Emma Stone - La La Land Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins Natalie Po...

Sing. Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) is New York heiress who has big dreams of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible voice. She of course, doesn't realize she's terrible. Her husband, St Clair (Hugh Grant) enables her by never telling her the truth, showering her with praise, and paying off their friends to do the same. They hire a meek pianist, Cosmé McMoon (Simon Helberg) to accompany her as she tries once again to be a star. There are so many things in this film that could come off as completely awful, St Clair being the biggest one. He and Florence don't sleep together, he has a girlfriend, he spends her money, but you can tell how much he loves her. That relationship could've been so gross but Grant plays Bayfield as protective and madly in love despite his "unconventional" relationship. Streep is amazing as always. We all know she has a lovely singing voice so it was probably fun for her to be able to screech like that. F...

Do you have dreams? Star (Sasha Lane) has been having a rough go of it. When we first meet her, she's dumpster diving with two young children trying to find food for the abusive household she lives in. While she's out, she meets Jake (Shia LaBeouf) a magazine salesmen in a van full of free spirited young people. He convinces her to come with them and work for Krystal (Riley Keough) traveling across America. What makes Star the mots intriguing is how grey her character is. She's introduced to us as responsible for looking out for her half siblings (I'm assuming that's what they are, the film doesn't explain) but then she just dumps them with their absentee mother to leave with Jake and the others. It made me ponder on whether or not that was a good move, whether I blamed her, or thought she was ever coming back. American Honey forced me to watch something I couldn't relate with at all. I could never be a door to door salesman, partying all day ...

Wanderer is spicing things up with Thursday Movie Picks and has included a few categories throughout the year where we can use TV shows. Being a TV addict, this is amazing. Today's theme is Science Fiction, and here are a few I love 1) Westworld HBO's newest drama may look like a Western at first glance, but it's only a cover. Seeing how the "Hosts" are programmed and the "Guests" that interact with them is fascinating.  2) The X-Files I loved watching this show with my parents when I was a kid. It also introduced me to "shipping" even though I didn't know it at the time. I waited not so patiently for Mulder and Scully to get together.  3) Space Cases Anyone else remember this show on Nickelodeon? It was about 5 teenagers that randomly had a space ship. One of them had an imaginary friend that turned out to not be imaginary anymore when said actress quit the show.