Tag / brad bird

by Jaime Rebanal

Ratatouille Review: A Testament to the Artists Working on their Craft

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Brad Bird’s second animated film for Pixar may not be an action-packed ride in the same way that his previous animated films were but knowing what it is that Ratatouille stands for, it’s hard not to love the sort of experimentation that it sets out for as far as the work of Pixar has gone. But of course being the Pixar apologist that I am, I can’t help but find myself being brought into a whole other world when looking at the beautiful animated backdrops being utilized to their very fullest and Brad Bird’s touch also helps in setting that into place with Ratatouille. In coming back to the familiar and backhanded criticism that animation is recognized as being geared primarily towards children, Pixar’s films have always found a way to resonate with adult audiences over the years but in looking at the story that they are telling in Ratatouille perhaps something more is coming along the way. In this story of a rat who is doing everything that he can in order to become a cook for as unorthodox as it is, we have another tale about the way art impacts others – something that is only set to resonate with viewers of all sorts.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Incredibles 2 Review: Fourteen Years Waiting Had Paid Off Magnificently

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The first Incredibles film is one of my favourite Pixar films, and it was one that begged for a sequel the moment it had ended. But given Pixar’s track record with franchising their own films (the only film with connections to preceding films to have really made its mark on me being Toy Story 3), it was also easy enough to be skeptical of what the results of Incredibles 2 would be. However, knowing that Brad Bird was going to be returning to write and direct, having wanted to develop a sequel to the first Incredibles film ever since its release, I already had hope despite knowing how much time it would take for Brad Bird to direct a sequel that he knew would deliver what audiences would have wanted to see in the many years of waiting. And if anything else were to be said about how the wait had paid off, Incredibles 2 may not live up to what the first film had set out for, but it is nonetheless a worthy sequel to possibly the most inventive superhero film to have come out in the past decade.

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by Jaime Rebanal

The Incredibles Still Remains as Fresh as It Did in 2004: A Review

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I don’t like many superhero movies. I feel like I’m just being a rambling cynic talking about them right now especially when we have so many coming out only in as much as a single year’s time. But The Incredibles comes a different case, because it came out as superhero films were starting to grow in terms of popularity and not only is it a standout on the count that it is animated whereas most others were in live action, but it is a standout because of how fresh it still feels in the years after its release for the genre. It still feels fresh compared to most other superhero movies because of the way in which it toys around with the idea, being based around a family of superheroes forced to live only under their secret identity much to the point of their mundanity. But this is the sort of freshness that one knows only Pixar can deliver, for The Incredibles still stands out as being one of their best films.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Review

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For once, I’m gladly impressed with a Mission: Impossible film, for after having been left bitterly disappointed by Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol not only is a huge step up from its predecessor but it’s also the first that I would gladly be able to truly call a good film. Given what potential the films had, it’s finally rather nice to see that by the time Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol had come along, the series had realized what it was capable of, and uses that to the very best of its own ability. Continue reading →