Tag / action

by Jaime Rebanal

‘RRR’ Review: Radical, Revolutionary, and it comes highly Recommended

✯✯✯✯✯

Rise, Roar, Revolt: these are the three R’s that make up the acronymous title of S. S. Rajamouli’s RRR, a Telugu blockbuster now catching the eyes of viewers in the west. As the film made waves around said viewers, it’s hard to go ignore how people have been talking about the film compared to western blockbusters: but that also shuts out talking of this Tollywood (not Bollywood!) film on its own terms, where it’s just a great time all around. I certainly am not the first to admit my experience with Indian cinema happens to be very limited, but nonetheless I can’t help but be taken aback by the scale of RRR.

Continue reading →
Advertisement
by Jaime Rebanal

‘The Northman’ Review: Valhalla Arises in Robert Eggers’s New Epic

✯✯✯✯✯

The third feature film of writer-director Robert Eggers isn’t a horror film much like The Witch or The Lighthouse were, but the way in which Eggers brings you into his worlds whether it be through the usage of old age English or the elaborate sets – when considering the historical settings of his films, is nothing short of impressive. It was easy enough to see that from The Lighthouse onward, Eggers certainly would have found himself growing to become more ambitious as a filmmaker and it’s perhaps best reflected by what you’re seeing in The Northman, which may just as well be his most visually stunning film to date. Yet to Eggers, it’s not simply about mere aesthetic, it’s all about transporting the audience back through time, which I believe he succeeds at beautifully in here.

Continue reading →
by Jaime Rebanal

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Review: So Much Said, So Little Time

✯✯✯✯✯

The directing duo Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) make their second feature film together with Everything Everywhere All at Once, whose title may just as well be an apt descriptor for what the viewers can expect themselves to experience from watching it. In fact, a film like Everything Everywhere All at Once seems to try and reach out as many people, going from those who were fascinated by the concept of the multiverse to film lovers, and maybe even to the inner child in most of us, for the ride that’s provided goes through most facets of life, from the happy to the mundane, while being thoughtful and ever so frantic. But underneath all of that, there’s something so much sweeter. If anything, it best states the film as a labour of love, all in a package that’s only set to overflow.

Continue reading →
by Jaime Rebanal

‘Extraction’ Review: A Pretty Setting Does Not Make an Exciting Action Movie

✯✯

Following all the Jason Bourne-esque action thrillers that we’ve come to see over the years it became much more difficult to find a supposedly “gritty” film that ever manages to be every bit as shocking as it promises. This is where we talk Extraction, the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave based on a comic book created by none other than the Russo brothers, following the fame they’ve achieved from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One could ever hope for Chris Hemsworth’s charisma to drive the film forward as it indulges in the excessive violence but unfortunately for every moment it boasts said aspect it also is incredibly dull.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Castle in the Sky’ Review: The Adventurous Spirits in Miyazaki’s Vision

✯✯✯✯✯

The first film to be released under the Studio Ghibli name, Castle in the Sky may be among Hayao Miyazaki’s more straightforward films but that never takes away from how thoroughly exciting it is from beginning to end. Much like Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky was a film that had been a favourite of mine when I was very young but it was also one that I never came back to until just recently. As I watch the film again as an adult, Castle in the Sky doesn’t only hit me again with that same magic like it did as a kid but I’m still in awe at how perfectly constructed it is – which is just about everything I could ever want from any of Miyazaki’s films.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Review: A Not-So-Grand Finale For the Skywalker Saga

✯½

It’s finally over, the Skywalker saga that began in 1977 with George Lucas’s Star Wars (or otherwise known as A New Hope), has finally ended with J. J. Abrams returning behind the camera to bring forth The Rise of Skywalker. One would already find themselves wondering where could the saga have gone following Rian Johnson’s radical approach to the series with The Last Jedi, which had divided many fans for betraying their image of the characters or the approach after having been reintroduced to them in The Force Awakens. In an attempt to hand the series back to those fans following the reception of The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker concludes this long saga on a sour note.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Crazy World’ TIFF Review: A New Breed of Supa Action

✯✯✯✯½

Joining me for this review is a fellow contributor who also attended the Toronto International Film Festival with me, Samuel Caceres.

There has never been a better time to be a Wakaliwood supa fan than the closing night at TIFF 2019. One would already wonder how much more insane could the no-budget studio from Uganda possibly take their passions for making action films after the sensation that is Who Killed Captain Alex? and Crazy World doesn’t let down upon expectations at all. 

[No, it hasn’t. As a matter of fact, this film alone has transcended from the medium when TIFF introduced the one and only VJ Emmie to perform live as the audience watched the Midnight Madness screening. It’s a once in a lifetime experience that no other audience can experience again.]

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Children of Men’ Review: Searching for Hope in the Darkest of Times

✯✯✯✯✯

When talking about the greatest science fiction films of the 21st century, for me only one film comes to mind when talking about the very best of such and that film is none other than Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men. Although its setting into the future may not have exactly predicted the turn of events in our world to come, there’s still something scary about the fact that we as a species have come so dangerously close to approaching the chaotic world that Children of Men shows us especially if the political climate only ever encourages such mayhem. Worth noting is the fact that Children of Men had barely made enough money to recoup its budget back when it came out, only being reflective of what it feels to be ignored when a message so important needs to find its way to get out. You’ll only watch a film like this wondering how come it actually happens to be so prescient, but at the same time you’d never want any of this to feel like it could become our own reality. You don’t ever want to see something like this happening, and you can continue telling yourself that it won’t ever become the truth, but that’s what makes Children of Men stick its landing so beautifully.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

‘First Love’ TIFF Review: Takashi Miike’s Touch Still Remains Intact Over 100 Films in His Career

✯✯✯½

It’s always astonishing to me how a director like Takashi Miike is able to push himself into making so many films compared to his own lifespan. There’ll come a point where I’d even find myself asking about how he remains so consistent with having made so many films with that same distinguishable style – but the fact that he’s still able to provide so many of these films would be more than enough to say that the Japanese film industry would never be the same without him. With his latest film, First Love, Takashi Miike does not quite enter new territory just yet but it does not make his films any less entertaining than they always are to watch. But even the tamest of Takashi Miike’s style of filmmaking can also have some of its more interesting aspects to observe and with First Love, he still provides an entertaining ride from start to finish.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Triple Frontier’ Review: J. C. Chandor’s Most Expensive Film Bites More than It Can Chew

✯✯

J. C. Chandor’s filmography has only been shifting in scale in some sense but maybe not always to the most consistent of results. His fourth feature, being his first one in five years since A Most Violent Year happens to be his most expensive project yet, sadly also happens to be his worst feature to date. With how much Margin Call and All is Lost have managed to accomplish with what little they had around them, and despite A Most Violent Year showing promise for Chandor to go for much bigger projects, it seems like the increasing scale may also have gotten the worst of him too. Triple Frontier if anything seems so much more like a film that’s overwhelmed by its incredible scale rather than one that is able to work properly within what’s been given to Chandor, but there’s almost no control over what it is that he wants to show us here – so much to the point it even makes its more dramatic moments feel as if they’re not even capable of carrying any weight.

Continue reading →