Tag / joss whedon

by Jaime Rebanal

‘Toy Story’ Review: The Enduring Freshness of the First Ever Fully Computer-Animated Feature

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For many moviegoers who were born around the 90’s or grew up into the 2000’s, the title “Toy Story” evokes a feeling of nostalgia one way or the other. Of course, for myself, Toy Story holds a special place in my heart not only for being my earliest memory of ever watching a movie but also being one among the first films that I distinctly remember branding “my favourite.” And although the title has been taken away by numerous films ever since as I continued developing my own taste in cinema, Toy Story still remains a favourite for even if the animation style may appear rather aged when put aside many future computer-animated features let alone the rest of Pixar Animation Studios’s oeuvre, it still feels every bit as fresh as it did the first day I remember having watched it. Noting its innovations for the time period as it was the very first feature film entirely animated through the use of computer-generated imagery, there are many more reasons as to why Toy Story still remains a huge staple for pop culture in the many years that have passed since its release and for every bit as enduring as its legacy is, it still remains Pixar’s finest achievement in my eyes.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Justice League – Review

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My friend Noah Miles wrote in his Spider-Man: Homecoming review, “I don’t know if Jon Watts is a good director. I really don’t. It’s impossible to tell from this, although the direction here is probably the worst I’ve seen so far this year, because Marvel reshoots everything and rarely allows directors creative freedom to take risks and do something visually interesting.” It was the first thing that came into my head after having left Justice League, because from the many reshoots that came along since Zack Snyder left the production after the death of his daughter, you can really tell this isn’t so much of a Zack Snyder film. As a matter of fact, it seems more like the traces of a butchered plan that were haphazardly stitched together as a means of trying to appeal to the masses. The sad thing is, there’s barely enough about Justice League as it stands that truly works.

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by Jaime Rebanal

In Your Eyes – Review

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I’m starting to question how I considered myself a big fan of Joss Whedon as I watch more films penned by him and slowly I find myself unimpressed. The Cabin in the Woods being a rather recent example for as much as I like the idea it presented it still lacks in terms of the delivery of its satire for it takes far too long to get there. I’ve grown up watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I only saw all of Firefly last year – but his film work seems to pale by comparison and In Your Eyes adds more to that streak of disappointment. A plethora of Peter Gabriel jokes could be made on the spot but I’m not wasting my time on such because the song of the same name isn’t even used in the film once.

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by Jaime Rebanal

The Cabin in the Woods – Review

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I’ve always carried an indifferent reaction towards Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods, which pained me because I grew up on Joss Whedon. At that point when I first saw The Cabin in the Woods, I was never sure why exactly did I end up leaving on such a mixed reaction and on a revisit that I hoped would have improved my thoughts, all that happened was not so much of a boost but instead a reinforcement in regards to why I felt that way towards the film. And the sad thing is, this is a movie that I know I want to like especially because I’m in on what it’s intending to do, because it has so many clever ideas at hand. What I don’t like, however, is extremely apparent especially when one looks at how it goes on about with them, leaving behind nothing more than a disappointing mess of wasted ideas. Continue reading →