Tag / mackenzie davis

by Jaime Rebanal

Tully Review: A Tender Film About the Challenges of an Idealized Motherhood

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I think I’m starting to find myself appreciating Diablo Cody’s writing far more than I initially would have thought I did, because her writing style seems to have grown far more beautifully within time. Although the rather blunt self-awareness can still be annoying (I still think that this is the case with Juno), there’s already been a clear sense of growth in her partnership with Jason Reitman for I’m only finding myself impressed by what the two of them bring to the screen together. After two misses for director Jason Reitman, it’s nice to see that he’s finding himself coming back onto the right track with Tully – something that I’d been waiting for after how dreadful his previous two films were. For not only is this Jason Reitman’s best film since Up in the Air but for another collaboration between Reitman and Diablo Cody, this feels like the perfect follow-up for Young Adult.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Always Shine – Review

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If Alex Ross Perry’s Queen of Earth hasn’t already made clear the influence of Ingmar Bergman’s masterful Persona on modern independent American cinema, then perhaps a more chilling approach can be found in Sophia Takal’s sophomore directorial effort, Always Shine. But among many reasons this underseen psychological thriller has indeed made itself shine as one of the most intriguing films of the past few years, it’s the commentary it states about the industry it is set within for even if it not particularly anything new, it never shuts down the viciousness of the content which it displays. But even in the somewhat derivative nature there’s still a feeling of freshness that makes Always Shine a thoroughly compelling watch.

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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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