Tag / harrison ford

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Review: The Magic Just Isn’t There Anymore

✯✯½

After a highly disappointing previous chapter in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a new chapter had to come by in order to provide the proper closure that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s long-running franchise had deserved. But without Steven Spielberg at the director’s chair, and George Lucas writing a story, it’s clear something is missing. With directing duties passed on over to James Mangold, who previously directed Logan and Ford v Ferrari, it’d be easy enough to at least hope the shoes are filled. Yet when we’re talking a film series that started with Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was just about the perfect action-adventure movie anyone can ask for, those would be such massive shoes to fill for a fifteen year wait in between the preceding chapter and this one. Sadly, it seems like all those years have left Indiana Jones to conclude not with a bang, but with a whimper.

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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.
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by Jaime Rebanal

Blade Runner – Review

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It still amazes me that after thirty years of being butchered from studio interference and having been ignored during its original theatrical run, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner still feels refreshing as if it were something that had only recently came out. Like the best science fiction films it isn’t one whose wonder lies within the excitement created by its distinctive visual style but how it presents itself – not as a showcase for hypnotic set pieces but as a meditation on life, pushing towards what we are afraid to ask. Even today the genre subversions still feel present and on rewatches I only find myself appreciating it all the more, after having already been left fascinated with a first watch. But it wasn’t until more revisits mere fascination grew into adoration, and soon the resonant effect of Blade Runner only made itself clear.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Blade Runner 2049 – Review

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The mere idea of a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner was always going to be troubling to me because the original is one of my favourite science fiction films, let alone one of my all-time favourite films. Seeing what Denis Villeneuve had done for the science fiction genre with his recent Arrival had only left me raising my hopes, and to say they were met is an understatement when talking about Blade Runner 2049. For not only is Blade Runner 2049 a sequel that expands beautifully upon the creativity that was shown in its predecessor but one built with the same thought and care which made the original as remarkable as it is. It isn’t a sequel that merely retreads a path that people are familiar with, but one that expands upon the ideas its predecessor had established forming not only a worthy sequel after a long period of time, yet also one destined to become a landmark of its generation in the same way the original film is.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Working Girl – Review

✯✯✯✯½

You hear his name very often because of the fact he’s directed The Graduate and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but I feel that in spite of the popularity which those two films have, Mike Nichols isn’t nearly given as much credit as he deserves as a film director. While not my favourite of his films (sticking with the popular choice in this scenario, that one being The Graduate), Working Girl always struck my mind as one of his most underrated directorial efforts to date. What always irritated me was how some people pass it off as any old cheesy romantic comedy but there’s much more to it than just being any old sappy comedy. Continue reading →