Rand's Rants

  I was really looking forward to Last Night in Soho . Known for his comedies, director Edgar Wright opted to make a dark, horror-adjacent film instead. Of the main cast is Anya Taylor-Joy, an actress I’ve loved since her performance in The Queen’s Gambit . Last Night in Soho had so much going for it, and for the most part, it succeeded! I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the film, but it slowly turns into an unsatisfying and fairly muddled conclusion with an obtuse message about nostalgia. Or about men. Or about mental illness. Or about confidence. It could have been about any one of those things, and that’s where I think the movie fails to be anything amazing. It couldn’t decide what it was trying to get across.  I can’t give away too much of the plot, as the movie is best experienced without knowing a lot going in. I will give a primer though: Thomasin McKenzie is an aspiring fashion designer who gets the chance to attend a fashion school in London. As she’s in Lond...

     It’s been a tough year for movies. Delays upon delays, most movies hitting streaming services just to survive their budgets, and a fairly lackluster lineup has left the movie theater fairly unappealing to a lot of people. I totally get that. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve questioned whether I really enjoy movies anymore. Me, Randy McLeod, the movie guy. But it’s true. I realized that I need that theater excitement, I need the countdown towards a new release. Above all else, I need that buttery popcorn. But the more I look ahead, the more I realize that movies are back, and are picking up steam. This fall/winter lineup is looking to be non-stop, and I could not be more excited. So, this blog post is going to be a bit different. I’m going to be highlighting upcoming releases that are on my radar, and hopefully can put them on yours as well. Last Night in Soho Last Night in Soho has pure goodwill from me. You may not know the name Edgar Wright, but you’ve probably seen ...

The Multiverse is a concept that, when done well, can branch into some of the most interesting stories that we’ve ever seen. Permutations upon permutations, different variations of the characters and events that we know. Combine that with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and you have a recipe for success. Which was what I thought… until I finished Disney’s What If…? series.  9 episodes of animated fantasies, each more different than the last in terms of structure and story, each of wavering quality. It was nine weeks ago that we were introduced to Captain Carter, an episode that was a safe approach when it came to how different the multiverse could be, but was an enjoyable time nonetheless. Honestly, the first half of the season was a great ride, with great performances from the late Chadwick Boseman in episode 2, a fun genre-bend of a murder mystery in episode 3, and my personal favorite of the season with Doctor Strange in episode 4. It was after this episode, however, that the show...