Tag / bill murray

by Jaime Rebanal

‘The Dead Don’t Die’ Review: Jarmusch’s Zombie Comedy is Dead on Arrival

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Jim Jarmusch is one among the most unique American filmmakers working today, for his deadpan sense of humour and otherwise outwardly visual style makes him stand out from many others. But even being too involved with that sense of being so distinctive can take a director like Jim Jarmusch somewhere, and in the case with The Dead Don’t Die it seems to have gotten the better of him. If anything, this almost feels like an actively lazy effort from Jarmusch which isn’t something that I would have expected from him, and even as a longtime fan of the filmmaker I was hoping that even for as messy as the results would have been, The Dead Don’t Die would at least be something I can find enjoyment from. And the joys are definitely present within the film after all, but there’s a point to which you also find yourself getting quite weary because Jarmusch isn’t really doing terribly much here that wouldn’t already feel as if it came out from a feature-length effort of an overeager student filmmaker. Which I suppose is the point, but it didn’t work at all for me.

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by Jaime Rebanal

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Review

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It’s easy enough to recognize the distinctive aesthetic of a Wes Anderson film but where it finds itself at its most delightfully tangible, without a doubt, is in The Grand Budapest Hotel. But even by Wes Anderson’s own standards, the elaborate structure of such a work is nearly impossible to match, for this feels like the sort of film that only Wes Anderson could have made. The Grand Budapest Hotel is the most Wes Anderson film that Wes Anderson has ever made, because it’s where each and every one of his most distinctive skills find themselves at their most free. If that alone weren’t enough to amount to what could easily become one of Wes Anderson’s best films, I don’t know what else can – because this may very well be the most Wes Anderson film ever to Wes Anderson.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Isle of Dogs – Review

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Wes Anderson’s second animated feature film Isle of Dogs (which can be said out loud as “I love dogs”) is delightful in every sense of the word. For as easy as it is to admire the consistency of a filmmaker like Wes Anderson whether it be via his trademark visual style or his distinctively quirky sense of humour, his style will understandably not be for everyone’s tastes. Speaking only for myself, I’ve been a rather dedicated apologist for Wes Anderson’s work for I’ve yet to find myself actively disliking a film under his own name – because the way Wes Anderson allows his own trademarks to adapt so well under different forms of storytelling only goes to show more proof as to why he is truly among the most unique filmmakers of his own generation, for he is truly in a league of his own.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Moonrise Kingdom – Review

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As far as critical success is concerned, Moonrise Kingdom is Wes Anderson’s most popular and for fans of the director it would be easy to see why this has stood atop all the rest. Although Rushmore still remains my favourite of his own work, Moonrise Kingdom showcases his own talents in arguably the most accessible manners for audiences of all sorts, but nevertheless it seems as if this is where he has only found the quirkiness that defined his own films working at its very best. Perhaps I’ve already come to the point that I’ve watched so much of his films enough to consider myself an apologist, but they’ve always worked with the same charms as he tells stories of all sorts. In just how it captures the joys and quirks of being a child, Wes Anderson has struck gold once again with Moonrise Kingdom by telling a whole other story on the inside here.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Lost in Translation – Review

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I think it goes without saying that Lost in Translation is easily Sofia Coppola’s best film as a director, but looking back upon why it gets the reputation as such is easy: for at only two films it still remains her most fully realized work to date. That’s not to say personal bias from great connection has also allowed itself to become a factor but there’s something about how Sofia Coppola presents this story that only calls upon great connection from my own end because the first memories I had of watching Lost in Translation are not fairly distant regarding where I’ve headed in life at this moment. I’ve started out a fairly lonely person without any sense of connection in the world and even though I’ve taken comfort in social media it brings back a specific melancholy that hit me when I watch Lost in Translation.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Scrooged – Review

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Richard Donner takes Charles Dickens’s classic tale A Christmas Carol and modernizes the story now to have something more cynical being put into play with the familiar structure. I’ll be one to admit that I’m always one to watch Bill Murray in anything for he always carries a great presence to comedy films even in his weaker films and I always remembered having enjoyed seeing his exaggerated Ebenezer Scrooge role in Scrooged – which helped me enjoy the film more. That having been said, for how enjoyable Bill Murray is in when he plays the character, I have never been a big fan of this take on the story.

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by Jaime Rebanal

The Jungle Book (2016) – Review

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While not lifeless, there’s not enough presented by The Jungle Book for me to get on board with. I like the fact that it knows whom it’s geared towards, but what I hate about its acknowledgement is how in turn something more restricted comes about. After Cinderella (which I’m indifferent to) and Alice in Wonderland (which I despise), Disney comes about with another live action remake of one of their classics, and this time, they tackle The Jungle Book. I was hoping for more out of this adaptation because I was particularly indifferent to the original Cinderella film and I was wondering what Jon Favreau could have done with his own spin on a different Disney film, and one which I had more of an attachment to at that. It was certainly something that looked very nice as it should, but trying to find the reasons for myself to get invested was where the real challenge came in. Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Ghostbusters – Review

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I never had so much of a close personal attachment with Ghostbusters in spite of how highly I enjoy it every time I come back to watch it. As a staple of the 1980’s, it shows its age but because of the time period which it is representative of, I’ll give it a pass in that area. Yet there’s still a level to which I do admit that I love Ghostbusters for it still puts a smile on my face, because it delivers what the title promises, it’s spooky and funny. Regardless, it’s interesting just coming back to Ghostbusters after years of not having seen it and within due time, there’s a sort of glory that can be found with the atmosphere to which it creates, which helps in adding up to why it would be seen as one of the comedy greats. It may not be as perfect as its fanbase insists, but as it stands, it is what it promises and nothing more. Continue reading →