Tag / elisabeth moss

by Jaime Rebanal

‘The Invisible Man’ Review: A Modern Spin on a Classic Horror Story with a Very Real Looming Fear

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Leigh Whannell’s spin on the classic H. G. Wells story initially started off as another entry in what was supposed to be Universal’s failed “Dark Universe,” which sought to bring together many of cinema’s most iconic horror monsters into their own shared universe. But after The Mummy had failed and said universe has only remained shelved ever since, Blumhouse took interest in reviving this project – turning it into a small-budget horror like all their most notable releases and what came forth from that is more than just a new contextualization of the Wells tale. The Invisible Man is every bit as terrifying as it can also be fun, but seeing what Whannell could do with the Wells classic to adapt it for a modern audience only further strengthens the film’s impact.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Jaime’s Film Diary: February 28, 2020

In order to continue keeping this site as active as possible while I have not been able to write as many full-length film reviews as I had planned initially, I figured that another solution would have come by in placing my Letterboxd entries starting from the week before here as a placeholder for eventual full-length reviews that are set to come by, if I were able to find the time to write another one. But as is, these are quick thoughts that I figure would be nice to keep afloat so that the site will remain active on a regular basis.

First-time viewings are noted as such. You can follow me on Letterboxd right here.

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by Jaime Rebanal

‘Her Smell’ Review: Elisabeth Moss Explodes in This Punk Rock Tragedy

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An extreme assault on one’s own senses, one that takes you in like a great punk rock song. In Alex Ross Perry’s Her Smell, you’re only left with this vague title describing something that can mean anything. It could even mean something pleasant because she’s wearing a whole lot of perfume in order to put on some fragrance for the show, but that’s also a part of what makes the whole film so wonderful in the same sense too. The third pairing of Alex Ross Perry and Elisabeth Moss isn’t only the most stressful film that they’ve made together, but it’s also the most chaotic of the sort. It’s chaotic in the sense that it shrouds you in everything that could lead to its own main character’s downfall, but Perry does not simply make his film only about the plight that one suffers in that sense. If there’s anything else that Alex Ross Perry has added to his own body of work with Her Smell, it’s a cementation for Perry’s name being among the most distinctive voices in American independent cinema. For all that said talent would be worth, this is where he finds himself having made his most significant work yet.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Us Review: Jordan Peele’s Sophomore Boasts a Confident Eye Behind the Genre

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For his sophomore feature film as a director, Jordan Peele returns to the realm of horror but also takes on a whole new approach with Us. But there’s also a great deal to admire about how much ambition Jordan Peele is showing in regards to where he wants to take his career, going from the funny guy on MADtv and Key & Peele to an Oscar-winning creator of horror films starting with Get Out. That’s about everything I feel can really be said about the fact that Peele is willing to take on a new challenge with Us, because there’s an incredible sense of confidence that one can pick up on from looking at what he presents for your eyes to see. But something else that I’m also finding myself loving about this new turn for Jordan Peele is the notion that this time around he seems to be unveiling even more potential for what he could bring to the horror genre. Like all the very best, he finds a way to get under your skin, but Peele’s vision is so distinctly made out of a love for the genre to that point even the most familiar concepts could be made into something more abstract.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Truth – Review

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Despite the underlying importance of its subject matter, Truth is nothing more than a slog to sit through from start to finish. Screenwriter James Vanderbilt of Zodiac fame seems to have headed down somewhere else afterward and now with him going behind the camera, what could only have come up was something that’d go either way on the map. In the case of Truth, something frustrating comes along and in turn dampens the impact of what was said to come afterward. There’s a fascinating story going behind it, and quite frankly it’s the underplaying of the subject matter that keeps it from being much more as a whole.

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