Month: October 2020

ON THE ROCKS

By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks, like her Lost in Translation, is a slow but entertaining burn playing out as a satisfying analysis of relationships.  Her stars Rashida Jones and Bill Murray offer realistic and witty portrayals as father and daughter maneuvering very different lives. Coppola, as she did with her… Continue reading ON THE ROCKS

THE EMPTY MAN

By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ Empty and idiotic about sums up the “horror/thriller” The Empty Man. Running an interminable two hours and seventeen minutes, writer/director David Prior’s vision never takes flight. Prior adapts his script from the popular graphic novel of the same name, but far too much goes unexplained and underplayed to garner attention… Continue reading THE EMPTY MAN

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Fourteen years later, actor/comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has returned as his most famous/infamous character, the often beloved, sometimes hated journalist from Kazakhstan named Borat. Call it serendipity or perfect timing, but Borat has returned to America at a crazy time. Going into this mockumentary, my obvious… Continue reading BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

TAKE OUT GIRL

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+ Take Out Girl is a little Indy film that almost could have been – great. Director Hisonni Johnson can’t quite pull off the tension necessary to capture the heart of the deeply disturbing story of desperation and deceit. Rich characters and a solid cast offer promise but the film falls… Continue reading TAKE OUT GIRL

Synchronic

By Laurie Coker Rating: C Filmmaking partners Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, best known for off-Hollywood-type films, team up in Synchronic, a sci-fi mystery starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan. Playing on their knack for arthouse-style filmmaking, the directing duo delves into some dark places -physical and mental – creating what might have been a… Continue reading Synchronic

A Celebration of Fantastic Fest 2020 Review: TEDDY

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Even though I began my virtual festival a day early with a screener, the actual virtual fest began the following night with a beastly opener from France. Every Fantastic Fest has a central theme, and usually the festival highlights and celebrates the films of a particular… Continue reading A Celebration of Fantastic Fest 2020 Review: TEDDY

A Celebration of Fantastic Fest 2020: LAUGHTER

By Mark Saldana Rating 4 (Out of 4 Stars) This French Canadian entry is not what one might expect from Fantastic Fest, and I do sincerely mean that in the best possible way. Don’t get me completely wrong. I absolutely relish the popcorn horror flicks and entertaining, comedic thrillers and action movies, but this movie… Continue reading A Celebration of Fantastic Fest 2020: LAUGHTER

THE DEVIL HAS A NAME

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ The Devil Has a Name” is a fictionalized drama of true events in California. News in recent years have shed light on the practice of oil companies dumping toxic wastewater into vital waterways and director and Oscar-nominated actor Edward James Olmos’ latest feature the Central Valley’s water contamination, based on… Continue reading THE DEVIL HAS A NAME

REBECCA

Rebecca (L to R) Lily James as Mrs. de Winter, Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter. Cr. KERRY BROWN/NETFLIX

By Laurie Coker Rating: C There is wonder in the escapism of classic literature. I love the beauty of a well-filmed period piece. Based on the riveting 1938 Daphne Du Maurier novel, director Ben Wheatley presents a tale of love and secrecy set against the backdrop of breathtaking Hartland Quay in Devon and Hatfield House… Continue reading REBECCA