Rambling Film

I almost forgot to post this! I felt like I was on fire blogging in December and January and then I just crashed and burned. Anyways, here's what I was watching on the small screen last month. The Crown I did it! I finally finished season 3! To be fair, as dull as the season was at the beginning, I thought the last three episodes were very strong. I'm looking forward to all the drama S4 should bring. The Outsider I started this limited series on HBO and I'm booked. Ben Mendelsohn is fantastic as is Cynthia Erivo and Jason Bateman is turning out to be a hell of a director. I can't wait to see where this goes. I've never read the book and have been avoiding all spoilers, shockingly. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez Is it bad that at one point in this doc I was like "less football more murder trial?" The saga of former Patriots player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez is certainly something. Even though this was only three epis...

Not the only dames in Gotham looking for emancipation. Notorious Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) got dumped by The Joker and when she impulsively broadcasts that message all over Gotham, she realizes very quickly that many people want to kill her now that Joker doesn't have her back. Mainly Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) but not before he agrees to let her track down a priceless diamond that was stolen by a pick pocket, Cassandra (Ella Jay Basco) Roman's singer/driver, Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) a jaded police officer, Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez)  and the mysterious Huntress ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead) also get in on the action and these women find themselves having to work together to defeat a common enemy. After the colossal mess that was Suicide Squad , It's nice to see its one shining star in Harley Quinn gets another go at the big screen. Yes, Quinn is not part of the original Birds of Prey. And yes, she does take over this movie, but that doesn't mean...

We made it! I know I sound like a broken record with how disappointed I am with the garbage nominations this year, and how it's the least amount of fun I've had in my entire decade of Oscar blogging, but tonight was actually...mostly fun. We saw history made with Parasite becoming the first foreign language film to win an Oscar. Taika Waititi won for screen writing, and Kelly Marie Tran was given more screen time here than the entirety of Rise of Skywalker. Here are a list of the winners, plus my thoughts after an entire bottle of wine. A few quick thoughts: Janelle Monae's opening number had me questioning my sexuality. A lot of the presenters  called out the academy's abysmal lack of nominations for women and people of color. Ball's in your court, Academy. Stop voting the way you do. Eminem performed Lose Yourself for some reason. I have no idea why but I still love that song and he didn't perform it when he actually won for it, and I was happy to see ...

You needed to know. Journalist Waad Al-Kateab chronicles her life in Aleppo, Syria from when she goes to university, falls in love, has a child, all while war rages on around her. This is a love letter to her daughter, Sama. Explaining why she had her and why she stayed. I've been trying to make my way through the Oscar nominated documentary features. So far I've only seen this and American Factory . Unlike the latter, For Sama actually moved me enough to write about.   There have been a few interesting documentaries about what's going on in Syria lately. The White Helmets and Last Men In Aleppo among them, but For Sama sets itself apart from having a very female voice, and one that is much needed. The amount of footage Waad captured is amazing and her pleas for her young daughter to understand her decisions are raw and heartfelt. Since she speaks in past tense, I was so worried all of the people she was featuring would pass. Some do, some don't. ...

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves will be ongoing all year. She's asking us to look at films that fall under the category of each deadly sin. We're starting off with lust. Some of these were tricky but here's what I came up with 1) American Beauty Lester Burnham lusts over his teenage daughter's friend. I refuse to let Kevin Spacey ruin this movie for me. I love it and it's still my favorite. 2) Shame Brandon is addicted to sex, so much so he can't go a day without watching porn, even on the job. The lust is dialed to 11 in this. 3) Secretary Mr. Grey lusts over his new secretary Lee and they end up in a BDSM relationship. I just had to laugh to myself because I forgot Spader's character's last name is Grey. This is superior to 50 shades in case you were wondering.

Last year I found almost all of the Oscar nominated short films to watch before the ceremony. As my local theater isn't participating in the Oscar Short showcase this year, I decided to hunt around the internet and see what I could find. Here are my quick thoughts. I was able to watch 14 of the 15 shorts. Documentary Shorts In the Absence - This doc is about the sinking of Sewol, a ferry in South Korea and the inept response by the Government when distress calls were made. Because of the poor handling, 304 people died. 250 of which were children. This was very harrowing for its brisk pace. They had phone recordings, showed news and cell phone footage and interviewed parents, survivors, and the brave civilian divers who assisted with the recovery. They covered a lot of ground in 28 minutes. A Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl - Because AETV.com forces you to watch ads (and they stop playing if you click out of the tab so you HAVE to watch them) this ...

Best Picture Ford v Ferrari The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite Who will win: 1917 Who should win: Parasite I think 1917 is a wonderful film that deserves its Best Picture nomination..but Parasite deserves this win. We're far overdue for a foreign film to take the top price and what better film to win than Parasite? One that absolutely deserves it.   Best Director Martin Scorsese - The Irishman Todd Phillips - Joker Sam Mendes - 1917 Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Bong Joon Ho - Parasite Who will win: Sam Mendes Who should win: Bong Joon Ho I won't be mad when Mendes wins, because 1917 is wonderful, but again, I just prefer Bong and Parasite.  Best Actor Antonio Banderas - Pain and Glory Leonardo DiCaprio  - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Adam Driver - Marriage Story Joaquin Phoenix - Joker Jonathan Pryce - The Two Popes Who will win: Joaquin Phoenix Who ...