Tag / catherine keener

by Jaime Rebanal

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is an Unnecessary Sequel That Leaves a Bitter Taste in the Mouth

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I still stand by Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario being one of the best films to have come out in recent years but the idea of a sequel being made was always something that left me highly skeptical. While the involvement of Taylor Sheridan was one thing that held me onto the idea of making a sequel, I was also left wondering where else would they have to go in making a sequel. Part of that was answered when I saw Sicario: Day of the Soldado yet another chunk of that question was only left unfulfilled because it only leaves a bitter taste in the mouth afterwards. Gone is the nuance that made Sicario wonderful, and instead you have enough violence to build what could easily have been a great 80’s action movie if the movie never took itself nearly as seriously as it did. But because the film takes itself so seriously, it never rises above the machismo that is on full display here, thus lacking the same impact that Villeneuve had employed in order to make Sicario work so beautifully.

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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

Get Out – Some Second Thoughts

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NOTE: This is a revised opinion that represents my current thoughts as opposed to my previous review. You can find the original review right here.

When I first saw Get Out in the theater, I came out thinking that it was merely good; yet it managed to stick inside of my head far more in the days that came afterward. Not merely because of the fact that I was stunned Jordan Peele of all people was the director, but the scathing social commentary of this work is one among many things that makes Get Out among the most effective films of our own time. Effective in a sense that it plays as a reminder that we must change for the better and not just wear it on our sleeves that we are going to “accept” a change in pace. But because Jordan Peele chooses to tell us this story as a horror film, it gives us a grasp on a greater truth. It may not strike on the first watch, but knowing more about the world it presents and how it reflects our own is the most terrifying thing that Get Out opens us to.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Being John Malkovich – Review

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As human beings, we all carry some sort of fascination with celebrity culture and it’s natural to wonder what the sort of lifestyle must be like. If any film managed to sum up what it’s like to carry that sort of fascination to the point we end up living it, then Spike Jonze’s Being John Malkovich would be the first film I point to. The bizarre concept to which it carries is already one factor as to why it stands out on its very own, but even more impressive comes from how it was the feature film debut of director Spike Jonze, who had directed many music videos prior, and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. But knowing how such films are outright impossible to repeat in this day and age, it’s among more reason I still find myself in awe of a film like Being John Malkovich, for it goes beyond its own quirks to become one of the very best films of its time, let alone one of the best debut efforts of all time.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Get Out – Review

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Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele have already made a name for themselves as two of the funniest men on television but after a seemingly rough start for their film career with Keanu (which played more as an overlong Key & Peele sketch) but now one half of them goes behind the director’s chair for a horror film. Get Out marks the directorial debut of Jordan Peele and it still carries his own dash of comedy, while intact remaining so terrifying. But I’m astonished that a man as funny as Jordan Peele could have made something like this given how he handles horror, and if Get Out signified anything for his future, he’s certainly on his way to becoming a great screenwriter and director. If he were to direct another comedy film or a horror film, count me on board.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Where the Wild Things Are – Review

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When I was much younger, Maurice Sendak’s book Where the Wild Things Are was a story I held so dear to my heart and I always wanted my parents reading it to me before heading into bed. In 2009, the time finally came when I was seeing something that defined my childhood coming to the screen. It’s hard enough translating a beloved piece of what helped me growing up onto the big screen in this manner but somehow, what Spike Jonze managed to provide had triumphed and brought back so many fond memories for myself. For not only was it those memories that came back to me which struck me in awe at Where the Wild Things Are, but Spike Jonze’s incredible understanding of childhood that only strike for more imagination.

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