ODDITIES: bizarre turns, strong performances, and wild ride

Tyler Savage’s ‘Oddities’ Raven Banner Entertainment

Austin Film Festival 2026 Oddities is a wild ride, to say the least. Writer and director Tyler Savage takes a relatively simple premise and turns it into a bizarre, bloody horror film that becomes increasingly outrageous as the story unfolds. Adrienne Barbeau is outstanding, the younger leads are excellent, and while the plot stretches credibility… Continue reading ODDITIES: bizarre turns, strong performances, and wild ride

109 BILLION FOLLOWERS – intriguing and clever storyline

Austin Film Festival 2026 Death has a following, apparently 109 billion strong, and in writer-director Ela Thier’s 109 Billion Followers, he has a face familiar to most moviegoers. J.K. Simmons plays the Grim Reaper in this unusual tale about a young filmmaker forced to confront her past and the relationships she has all but abandoned.… Continue reading 109 BILLION FOLLOWERS – intriguing and clever storyline

ARTHUR & CLARA -performances and visual appeal make it worth watching

Austin Film Festival 2026 Running away from one’s problems sounds appealing, particularly when the destination is a lovely farmhouse tucked away in the British countryside. Unfortunately for Arthur and Clara, the two strangers in writer-director Kieran Bourne’s Arthur & Clara, solitude isn’t part of the accommodations. Both arrive hoping to escape their respective troubles, only… Continue reading ARTHUR & CLARA -performances and visual appeal make it worth watching

Austin Film Festival 2026: Twenty Films and a Wonderful Experience

Austin Film Festival shone for me this year. I’ve attended in previous years, and although there were noticeable changes this time, I left thoroughly impressed with the festival, its film selections, and especially the people who worked so hard to make it happen. Festivals make up the majority of my movie experiences these days, and… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2026: Twenty Films and a Wonderful Experience

Elsinore: Andrew Scott shines in a remarkable weaving of Hamlet and Ian Charleson’s story

Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman in 'Elsinore.' Anthony Dickenson/Focus Features

Austin Film Festival 2026 After a week of movies at the Austin Film Festival, the film I kept thinking about the next morning was the closing night film, Elsinore. I went to the Bullock IMAX expecting a strong performance from Andrew Scott. I got one, all right. I knew Ian Charleson’s face from Chariots of… Continue reading Elsinore: Andrew Scott shines in a remarkable weaving of Hamlet and Ian Charleson’s story

Wild Horse Nine: a pairing of actors that pleases unabashedly

Fantastic Fest 2026 John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell are a pairing I could happily watch argue their way through almost anything. In Wild Horse Nine, their chemistry turns a buddy comedy with a serious undercurrent into one of my favorite Fantastic Fest experiences. Writer-director Martin McDonagh gives them clever material, and they deliver it with… Continue reading Wild Horse Nine: a pairing of actors that pleases unabashedly

POSSIBLE LOVE: A Powerful Story About Inequality

From writer/director Lee Chang-dong (Burning) comes yet another story about class disparities in South Korea. While not as thrilling or dramatic as Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, or as exceptionally comedic as Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, Possible Love’s subtler, more restrained style gives the film a grounded reality and an indelible gravity. Beyond the exceptional… Continue reading POSSIBLE LOVE: A Powerful Story About Inequality

Alamo Exclusives film, Littermates, Arrives in Theaters after Festivals

The feature film Littermates marks the directorial debut of filmmakers Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson, who wrote, directed, and produced it. Littermates won the Special Jury Prize at the 2026 Manchester Film Festival. Then at its North American premiere at the Dances with Films (DWF: LA) festival on June 21, 2026, it won the Narrative… Continue reading Alamo Exclusives film, Littermates, Arrives in Theaters after Festivals

Broadway in Austin – A Beautiful Noise -Enjoy Neil Diamond’s Award Winning Music

Texas Performing Arts presents Broadway in Austin, and during the week of November 3-8, 2026, “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” is available at the Bass Concert Hall, 2350 Robert Dedman Drive, Austin, TX 78712. “A Beautiful Noise” makes its Austin premiere as part of the Texas Performing Arts Broadway in Austin 2026-2027 Season.… Continue reading Broadway in Austin – A Beautiful Noise -Enjoy Neil Diamond’s Award Winning Music

Review: Sisa — the strength of patience

Hilda Koronel as the titular character in Jun Robles Lana’s ‘Sisa’ (Photo: The IdeaFirst Company, 2026).

Austin Film Festival 2026 By Laurie Coker | True View Reviews | Austin Film Festival 2026 I went into Sisa knowing little about the Philippine-American War and came away appalled by what I learned. American soldiers burning villages, destroying crops, and forcing civilians from their homes? This was certainly not the American history I remember… Continue reading Review: Sisa — the strength of patience