Rambling Film

How do I get a fair score? This is the biography of US figure Skater Tonya Harding. (Margot Robbie) While breaking the 4th wall, we see her live with her abusive mother, LaVona (Allison Janney) and move on to her abusive ex-husband, Jeff. (Sebastian Stan) All while trying to advance in the skating world when she doesn't necessarily fit in. I, Tonya has perfect pacing. We start with Tonya at age four and move on until she's in her 20's, with all the buzzy parts of her live captured with ample time. We instantly get attached to her as the underdog. It's almost shot documentary style with the characters constantly narrating. At times, they turn towards us right in the middle of the story to address us. It's a risky gimmick but it pays off well. Margot Robbie is absolutely amazing in this role. The gravity she brings to it is exceptional. Sebastian Stan also gives one of the best performances I've seen from him. He's an actor that's been grow...

Better late than never. I'd be shocked if I managed a Best of *insert year* list in that year. There's always something left over for me to chase after. I manged to see 99% of the films I wanted to, so now's the time to share my list. Here are my top 10 favorite films of 2017 in no particular order, a few other random favorites, and of course, the 5 worst films I saw this year.  Top 10 Films of 2017 Apes together strong The best version Have a little understanding of people's feelings She ran six miles in the snow Bound by love. Torn by flesh My masterpiece #perfect You were one of my favorites We're going home A princess couldn't do what I did Just Missed Honorable mention: Mudbound, Okja, Colossal, Wonder Woman, Your Name, The Big Sick, I, Tonya, The Shape of Water And now the worst of the worst. Keep in mind, if a movie looks bad, I don't go see it. Aside from o...

What would I say, I wonder? Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a mute woman working as a cleaner in a research facility. She doesn't have many companions, there's Zelda (Octavia Spencer) her only work friend for over a decade and her neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins) who she spends time with during the day. One day a strange fish creature is brought into her facility and she finds herself drawn to him and wants to set him free. This film has had buzz about it since this summer so the wait to actually watch it felt excruciating. During that time I lowered my expectations, which I'm thankful for. The Shape of Water is good, but it's not free of issues.   If you're wondering why the Academy sent nuts for a film where a woman fucks a fish man, it's probably because there's a Hollywood musical number thrown in. Seriously. It's brief, but felt out of place, even though it shouldn't. And that brings me to my issues with the film. There were so many side...

And I'll call you by yours. Every summer Professor Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg) invites a grad student to his home in Italy to be his research assistant. This year, he's invited Oliver (Armie Hammer) who forms a close bond with his 17 year old son Elio. (Timothee Chalamet) The film practically begs you to visit Italy. It gives off this laid back endless summer vibe that's absolutely gorgeous. It works beautifully with how conflicted Elio is. Imagine if he were brooding around a gloomy city? It wouldn't work as well. It takes its time getting Elio and Oliver to admit their feelings. So much time in fact that I was starting to get a bit frustrated. I felt as if the film got too caught up in its own beauty to get to the point. Slow burns are nice but this one teeters on dragging out far too long. I can see why so many people stan Timothee Chalamet. He has a unique face and he's wonderful here. He's very convincing in his crush, lust, love, whatever ...

We have a new host for the Blind Spot Series - Sofia at Returning Videotapes ! I haven't changed my banner yet to include her blog, I'll get to that eventually. Even with Ryan stepping down, I love this series - and this excuse to watch something old too much to quit. I had a list already set out before Ryan even announced he was ending it. I'm happy for Sofia for carrying it on! What I knew going in: That Bette Davis was in it.  Margo (Bette Davis) is a theater actress who is introduced to Eve (Anne Baxter) one night after a show. Eve has been to every performance and says she's a huge fan. After a while, Even begins to show her own ambitions for the spotlight and maybe she isn't as genuine as we thought.  When I watched Sunset Boulevard last year, a few of you suggested I watch All About Eve . Because I hadn't researched it I was expecting a few familiarizes but both films are very different. This one feels more down to Earth and less glamorous, even t...

Take it to print. When a disgruntled military analyst has finally had enough of the way the government is handling the Vietnam War, he leaks several documents to a few papers. The New York Times publishes them first, then feels the wrath of President Nixon. Then they fall into the hands of Washington Post reporter, Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) He brings them to his boss, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) who must convince his boss, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) who just took her company public and still faces many obstacles being a woman owning a newspaper to publish them.  I had to laugh at a comment I read about this film elsewhere. It went something like "Oh, Steven Spielberg made a great movie with great performances by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.........and?" You know you make a lot of solid films when expectations are so high that even "great" is nothing to write home about. For the record, The Post is a good movie. But even with so much talent, it doesn...

Keeping up with last year's tradition, Wanderer is saving the last Thursday of every month for TV picks. This week it's about books that have been adapted into TV shows.  1) Game of Thrones Of course I'm including one of my all time favorite TV shows, based off one of my all time favorite book series. I love Game of Thrones. I'm not ready for it to to end.  2) Big Little Lies This is the only one of my picks where I didn't read the source material but I'm sure I will some day. This series was amazing. Beautifully acted and paced. I'm interested in what they do with season two.  3) The Handmaid's Tale This is an instance where I think the show is far better than the novel. It just expanded on so much and answered nearly every question the novel didn't. The show is better by a long shot.