Day: February 12, 2021

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) The American dream is a goal that not only natural-born citizens of the United States hope to accomplish, but is often, more importantly, a goal that immigrants hope to achieve. That is the main message of this beautiful and heartfelt movie about South Korean immigrants trying… Continue reading MINARI

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the true story of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and the infiltration of the Chicago chapter of the party by FBI informant William O’Neal, writer/director Shaka King presents an all-too-real and dual-faceted example of our US government’s oppression of Black America. Out-spoken and unfiltered,… Continue reading JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on Mohamedou Ould Salahi’s memoir Guantanamo Diary, this film adaptation by director Kevin Macdonald does manage to deliver an emotional wallop, but gets undermined by a mostly dull, legal procedural approach to the material. The movie follows the legal defense and their investigation into the… Continue reading THE MAURITANIAN

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Barb and Star initially seems like an SNL sketch idea that never made it to the show and seems destined for failure in a feature treatment. Going into this movie, I tempered my expectations accordingly, but was ultimately pleasantly surprised with the delightful comedic results that… Continue reading BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The idea of making another time loop movie actually is rather amusing if one were to think about it. In a time loop plot, a character or characters often repeat a day or a certain chain of events, sometimes with different outcomes, only to start over… Continue reading THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS