Tag / mia goth

by Jaime Rebanal

Jaime’s Film Diary: March 15, 2020

As expected, I’ve been keeping my Letterboxd up to date – so here’s yet another update for here in regards to what I have been watching as of late.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria is a Beautifully Indulgent Nightmare: Review

✯✯✯✯✯

Dario Argento’s Suspiria is one of the greatest horror films ever made, so the idea of a remake being directed by Luca Guadagnino was something that already seemed tempting just on the basis of him being one of Italy’s most exciting working filmmakers. But what Luca Guadagnino had in mind for Suspiria was never going to be the same one you would already have remembered that someone like Dario Argento would have had everyone remembering over the years, so the idea of a new experiment that would pay tribute to the original film rather than outright remake it was something that could easily have gone either way. Luca Guadagnino has always remained one of the most interesting filmmakers of his own sort and as polarizing as the results may be, I can’t help but find that what Guadagnino created using the story of Argento’s film as a template for this new experiment would also be beautiful in its own way. It’s no ordinary horror film, one that isn’t guaranteed to win over new fans from anyone who is unfamiliar with the source material, but also not the other way around – yet Guadagnino comfortably makes it feel like it’s his own thing and to say the very least, it’s outstanding.

Continue reading →

Advertisement
by Jaime Rebanal

High Life, a Contemplative, Tragic Tale Made Haunting by Director Claire Denis’s Thoughtfulness: TIFF Review

✯✯✯✯✯

Claire Denis is without a doubt one of the most fascinating filmmakers working today, but one can only find it so difficult where exactly to place expectations for what could turn out from a film set in deep space written and directed by her. There’s no exact way for one to define the sort of films that she makes, but that’s part of the reason she has remained one to keep my own eyes peeled out for. Yet I don’t think even having loved so many of Claire Denis’s past films can prepare me for what was set to come forth with High Life, because there’s another door she’s opening with this film that I don’t even know if many other filmmakers would ever dare to approach. But I think that’s why I know for a fact that I love what she does behind the camera, because I know that with films like this she’ll truly remain one of cinema’s greatest miracles, especially if we are going to speak those who are still working today. High Life is a difficult film to describe, but that’s one among many reasons I still find it to be so infinitely fascinating too, because it’s almost like Claire Denis is making a film all about what’s set up for humanity’s own future too, and it also makes me look forward to more English-language features from her.

Continue reading →

by Jaime Rebanal

A Cure for Wellness – Review

✯✯✯✯

The films of Gore Verbinski have their audience but it’s abundantly clear when he feels more in touch with himself and when he’s willing to appease. Now heading back to the horror territory after a remake of Ringu he comes out with A Cure for Wellness, a film that seems to be drawing divided reactions from both the positive and the negative. Positive comments aim towards the atmosphere of the piece where negative comments attack it on a count of predictability in spite of a sense of visual beauty it provides. I fall on the more positive side of the fence with A Cure for Wellness, evidently a more ambitious turn on Verbinski’s own end and perhaps his most fascinating film since Rango. Amongst the more mainstream releases in years, it’s nice to see something of this sort carrying the ambition it has but it’s also rather saddening that it might likely go unnoticed at the box office.

Continue reading →