DVD Review: Official Secrets

What would you do for your country?

Katharine Gun works for GCHQ and leaks a top secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war. It finds its way to reporter Martin Bright (Matt Smith) of the Observer and is published for all to see. Katharine turns herself in and is charged with breaking the Official Secrets act.

Too many people slept on this movie. This is a solid drama with an outstanding cast. I've had it on my "Must See" list all year but the reviews I did read were all mediocre at best. Sure, it might not be as exciting as other journalism/whistle blower films but Official Secrets never gives you a moment to feel bored. 

Keira Knightley is wonderful is wonderful as Katharine. I love seeing her in more modern roles since so many things she does are period pieces. I think this is up there as one of her best performances. Smith, Matthew Goode, Conleth Hill, Indira Varma, Rhys Ifan, Ralph Fiennes, and Adam Bakri make up a stellar supporting cast. 

If there's one thing I wish I had more of, it's time with the Observer staff. Their scenes were my favorite but they disappear for quite a while in the middle of the film. I understand why, it's not needed, but the actors were such a joy to watch together I wouldn't have minded if there were more of them.

If you enjoy these types of movies, please don't miss this one.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B+

Memorable Quote: "I'm not sorry I did it, I'm sorry that I failed." - Katharine (Keira Knightley)

The Best Shots of the Decade: 2011

This month, I wanted to start sharing "Decade" posts celebrating the 2010's. It's extra fitting that this year is the 10 anniversary of Rambling Film. I decided to split up each year, with 10 gifs from 10 different films. Here are some shots that stood out to me in 2011. 

Shame (2011)

Pariah:

The Descendants

Drive

Take Shelter

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Like Crazy

Midnight in Paris

Hanna

BONUS

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (2011)

 okay this is because I'm a shameless Romione shipper but I FINALLY got to visualize this kiss even if it was poorly staged. DON'T JUDGE ME.

#idowhatiwant

Click here for my 2010 post

Thursday Movie Picks: Adaptations

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves are films that are adapted from novels. I wanted to avoid series so here are a few stand alone books that were made into movies. 

1) Gone Girl

I think this is one of the best book to movie films ever made. Rosamund Pike is absolutely perfect as Amy Dunne. 

2) Every Secret Thing

I adore Laura Lippman's novels and currently this is the only one of her vast collection that's been adapted into a movie. I think it's good. It has great performances by Dakota Fanning and Danielle MacDonald. I recommend both the book and the film.

3) Never Let Me Go

I haven't read the novel this is based off of, I understand it's pretty different, but I really enjoyed this. At the time I hadn't seen anything like it. 

Review: The Report

The Torture Report

Daniel Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked by his superior, Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) to lead an investigation of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program created in the aftermath of 9/11. After his horrifying findings, he works to get the report available to the public but faces several obstacles. 

Right off the bat, Amazon did an absolute shit job of marketing this film. It had so much buzz after Sundance and they gave it a limited release before dropping it on Amazon Prime for their subscribers. Yes, Netflix does the same thing, but Netflix also has more than double the subscribers. This should've gotten a bigger theatrical push. 

I feel so strongly about this because The Report is a great film. It has a talented supporting cast lead by Driver and Bening who both give wonderful performances. I watched this the day after I saw Official Secrets, another similar film that also lacked the publicity it deserved. 

This isn't an easy watch. It makes us revisit a lot of the awful torture techniques used by the U.S during the Iraq war. It brought back memories of all the debates I had about this in high school. How my school eventually had to start banning websites from our library that showed those photos. Thankfully it's only the beginning of the film, but it's such an ugly part of history. It's hard to watch people have such a disregard for human life, regardless of the circumstances. The film doesn't sugar coat that, and even though the film is critical of what happened, they also give the "other side" time to explain why everything went down the way it did. 

Another thing I appreciated a lot in this film aside from the acting is the structure. Sure, they drench the flashbacks in a sepia hue, but they're always very clear on the time line. It's helpful for a film that has to jump around.

I hope enough people see this. I re-signed up for Prime temporarily just so I could watch this, Fleabag, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. But I hope Amazon does a better job theatrically next time they get a film like this. Late Night got a wide release. This should have as well. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A-

Memorable Quote: "I hope you took your strong pills today - Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening)

Review: Knives Out

Do you suspect foul play?

Private investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) has been called in to assist Detective Elliott (Lakeith Stanfield) in the mysterious death of Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) while nearly his entire family is in the house. Elliott is ready to label it as a suicide, but Blanc was sent on this case anonymously and suspects there's more to the story. Everyone is a suspect.

I've always loved director Rian Johnson's movies. Brick remains in top 5 of all time and of course I loved his last outing, The Last Jedi. I've been anticipating this since it was announced and it thankfully lived up to all of the hype.

I've read more "whodunits" then I have watched films about them. This is like a modern Agatha Christie novel only funnier. The script was smart, it kept you guessing and it had plenty of smaller things thrown in that came back later. I had a few cocktails before watching this so I wasn't trying too hard to guess who I thought was responsible for his death. I was happy to just be along for the ride.

This is a great ensemble cast but there are two standouts: Daniel Craig, and Ana de Armas, who plays Marta, Harlan's nurse. After seeing Craig in Logan Lucky I wished he would do more comedy and I got everything I could've asked for her. He's truly hysterical. Ana is the heart of the film and the one character we spend the most time with. I think she gives a wonderful performance too. The only highly credited actor that doesn't have as much to do is Jaeden Martell, but he's the butt of so many jokes that it's worth it.

It does end up being a bit predictable in parts but the entire film was such a joy to watch that it doesn't dampen it too much. Knives Out feels truly unique as you don't quite see films like this getting made anymore. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "Like that little nazi boy masturbating in the bathroom." - Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig)

The Best Shots of the Decade: 2010

This month, I wanted to start sharing "Decade" posts celebrating the 2010's. It's extra fitting that this year is the 10 anniversary of Rambling Film. I decided to split up each year, with 10 gifs from 10 different films. Here are some shots that stood out to me. Let's get a start on 2010.

Inception

Black Swan

Never Let Me Go

127 Hours

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Shutter Island

The Social Network

Fish Tank

Blue Valentine

How To Train Your Dragon

What I watched on TV in November

Mr. Robot - Sam Esmail is just showing off. There have been some beautifully directed and acted episodes this month, on top of a huge revelation about Mr. Robot. I still think the way they went about said revelation was wrong. Bringing back a character that has long been done with the series, then wasting our time with him, only to kill him afterwards...I just felt it they could've told it another way. Dom has been the standout for me this season and I loved her final badass moment.

Watchmen - This show outdoes itself with every episode. It's so beautifully shot and even though there's plenty of weird things in it, it still balances a very serious tone and a harsh look into the racism of my country.

His Dark Materials - This is getting better. I still feel like they info dumped quite a bit of things on me as a non book reader but it's become easier to follow and I like that Dafne has a bit more agency than she did in the first few episodes. 

The Crown- This season is hard to get into. I like Colman, but Claire Foy was just too perfect in this role, I think. And I find it so distracting that they didn't change her or Helena Bonham-Carter's eye color. They don't feel like Elizabeth and Margaret

Fleabag - I liked this a lot! It was such a quick binge My favorite line has got to be "I have two degrees, a husband and a Burberry coat!" I laughed so hard at that. Hot Priest was just as hot as I was promise. Andrew Scott...mmmmm

The Mandalorian - AKA the Baby Yoda show because holy shit, I'm obsessed with that little guy. I will quite literally lose my mind if something bad happens to him. Cuteness overload aside, I'm really liking this so far. It's shot very well and they introduce a few things from the animated series that are a joy to see in a live action setting. I can't wait to see what happens next.