Tag / david lowery

by Jaime Rebanal

The Old Man & the Gun’s Unabashed Sentimentality Sets the Perfect Sendoff for Robert Redford: TIFF Review

✯✯✯✯

David Lowery’s latest film pays an homage to the days of classic Hollywood crime films often led by a charismatic actor just simply being themselves on the screen, and in The Old Man & the Gun, we have one last spin for Robert Redford. At least what’s supposedly going to be, at that – but as a modern day tribute to the films that we’ve come to love Robert Redford for over the years, there’s a sentimental value present in The Old Man & the Gun that may also make the ride more heartfelt as it keeps going. But of course to those who have stuck so closely with the films of Robert Redford for as long as they have, we don’t simply view Redford as being any other “old man,” he personified a gentlemanly attitude that not many other actors could copy – and it’s not hard to be won over by that charm. Yet if this were truly going to be Robert Redford’s final film, you can still feel how much he really loves living in his prime; as if that wouldn’t already make a longtime fan feel so warm inside.

Continue reading →

Advertisement
by Jaime Rebanal

The TIFF Diaries Entry #3: Hiking Back and Forth Around Toronto, Red Carpet Talks

Saturday has been yet another busy day, if also quite slow – and to some extent boring. However, I think it also happens to be the best day for me in terms of the films that I had caught at the festival all day because I had the pleasure of seeing Beautiful Boy once and for all after having failed to get into its premiere screening due to commitments to see Gloria Bell at its premiere. And in the time that I had spent in the festival since then, waking up near six in the morning and lining up for nearly an hour, I have not been able to get the film out of my head. It all had to start with being able to attend the press line at the red carpet the previous day, but now that I finally got the chance to see it for myself after promising some friends (and failing) to get a picture of Timothée Chalamet at the premiere. But I will be honest, if he was only sticking in the fan zone, I can’t say I do blame him.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

2017: A Year in Review

Another year is complete, but not without having talked about the wonderful experiences we’ve had at the cinemas. Together with the not-so-wonderful films. But alas, this has been an extraordinary year for films for the highlights still managed to stick their landing inside of our minds – and the inevitable “what about such and such?” will come but I will remind you that it would have been outright impossible for me to have been able to catch virtually every movie that had come out the previous year to make sure I wouldn’t forget other highlights that may not have made it.
Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – Review

✯✯½

It’s easy to find influences from Terrence Malick spreading everywhere, for David Lowery’s debut Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is only making itself clear its own homages to Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde among a few. But the fact that it lays upon these influences only is one thing that keeps me from coming closer, for it tries its best to feel soothing as a sight for the eyes and a sound for the ears, and yet on the inside it still feels so thin. I’m not even sure that writer-director David Lowery seemed especially interested in going beyond these stylistic influences to make something all the more compelling. It’s easy to see why Ain’t That Bodies Saints has drawn such a divided reaction towards the manner to which it is channeling Malick for some say it is a loving homage and others say it is a flagrant copy, and unfortunately I happen to be on the other side of the fence.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Pete’s Dragon (2016) – Review

✯✯✯

Having never grown up with the original Pete’s Dragon film I was unsure what exactly I was in store for with this new live action rendition. After Disney has been churning out many live action remakes of their own animated films which started out with Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella, they’ve brought out what may be the best of such but whether that says a lot is completely up to you. I’ve never seen the original Pete’s Dragon yet because even as a kid it never seemed like something I was into. Walking out of this recent remake indeed leaves me curious to watch the original, but even with that said, I’m still indifferent to what we had been left with – it’s a live-action remake from Disney that could have offered much more but rather disappointingly, just never delivered. Continue reading →