Tag / thandie newton

by Jaime Rebanal

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is a Compelling but Endearing Mess: TIFF Review

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I’ve never been the biggest fan of Xavier Dolan and I outright hated his last film, so upon hearing that The Death and Life of John F. Donovan was already opening to bad reviews from other peers at TIFF, I thought I already knew what I was set to expect. Yet instead I came out thinking that as messy as it may have been, this also happens to be one of Dolan’s best films. Surprisingly, it was rather easy for me to have made such a statement because it seems to be a perfect summary of what I find Dolan himself to be – and it’s also set to divide people all the more. But because of what a story like this can say about where Xavier Dolan comes from, I think it’s also fitting enough to say that there’s a lot of heart to be recognized in a story like this, and for the most part – it also happens to be in the right place. Which is more than I know I can say about many of Dolan’s other films, because I’m also looking forward to seeing another English-language effort by him now.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Solo: A Star Wars Story Adds Nothing New to a Story We Already Know – A Review

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Usually there’s always some form of excitement coming right before stepping into a Star Wars film but in the case of Solo: A Star Wars Story I could not ever bring myself to be even find myself even able to get enthusiastic in the slightest. As a matter of fact, my potential enthusiasm had already died off given the film’s troubled production history which involved numerous reshoots after the firing of the film’s initial directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, only to have been replaced by Ron Howard – a director who I’ve never exactly been the fondest of for the most part. As I walked into Solo: A Star Wars Story, I was hoping that all of my skepticisms would have faded away from watching the final product given as it was only properly marketed just a few months before its release – only to have found that every reason I had for being skeptical of how this would turn out would have been reaffirmed. Even Rogue One had given me some hope as much as I was never on board with the idea of a Star Wars anthology, but I can’t say that I felt anything from Solo.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Mission: Impossible II – Review

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Often cited as the downfall of the Mission: Impossible franchise, I’m probably amongst the few that don’t hate Mission: Impossible II as much as the general public appears to, for at least what’s offered in Mission: Impossible II feels much less restrictive compared to the overtly convoluted nature of the first film. In spite of said weaknesses in the first, Mission: Impossible II is also not a film without its own faults for while it may be a rather slight improvement from the first, there’s not enough on the inside that can create a good enough film worthy of a recommendation. Continue reading →