This year’s Austin Film Festival had programming stacked with movies that were generating buzz at other festivals. After receiving lots of positive feedback from the Venice International Film Festival and knowing it is a Noah Baumbach film, I knew I must attend the screening at AFF. Jay Kelly does not disappoint. Baumbach’s attention to story… Continue reading AFF 2025: JAY KELLY Delivers Stellar Turns By George Clooney And Adam Sandler
Author: Mark Saldana
LEFT-HANDED GIRL: A Sean Baker-Style Story Presented Through Chinese Working Class Culture
From writer-director Shih-Ching Tsou and co-writer/producer/editor Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project, The Red Rocket) comes a movie that portrays the struggles of a single Chinese woman attempting to provide for her two daughters, on her own terms, while maintaining some semblance of pride and honor to please her parents. However, they have some skeletons… Continue reading LEFT-HANDED GIRL: A Sean Baker-Style Story Presented Through Chinese Working Class Culture
AFF 2025: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
Writer/director Rian Johnson is back with another installment in his Benoit Blanc mystery series. After loving Knives Out and enjoying Glass Onion, I was definitely ready to see what the filmmaker had been cooking for the past 3 years since the last movie. It certainly pleases me that each chapter of this series feels unique… Continue reading AFF 2025: WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
ZOOPTOPIA 2: A Fun Sequel That Is Not Quite As Good As The First One
The first Zootopia is a movie full of extraordinary imagination, beautiful animation, exceptional humor, and rich characters. It is one of those first installments that would be hard to follow; therefore, my expectations for this sequel were definitely tempered. Armed with that attitude, I was mostly pleased that the new film still keeps the jokes… Continue reading ZOOPTOPIA 2: A Fun Sequel That Is Not Quite As Good As The First One
AFF 2025: TRAIN DREAMS: Beautiful and Haunting
Based on the novella (of the same title) by Denis Johnson, writer/director Clint Bentley and co-writer Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing) adapt this moving and compelling story of a simple man who must constantly travel away from his family to toil for the railroad. The movie had a limited theatrical release but is now streaming on… Continue reading AFF 2025: TRAIN DREAMS: Beautiful and Haunting
IN YOUR DREAMS: An Imaginative and Heartfelt Family Movie
Now available to stream on Netflix, In Your Dreams is an animated feature film that follows a small family as its parents face marital woes. Twelve-year-old Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) loves her family dearly, even though she constantly butts heads with her chaotic little brother Eliot (Elias Janssen). Her father (Simu Liu) struggles to maintain a… Continue reading IN YOUR DREAMS: An Imaginative and Heartfelt Family Movie
WICKED: FOR GOOD Ties Up The Loose Ends, But Does Not Do Much Else
The first cinematic adaptation of the popular Broadway musical Wicked didn’t wholly blow me away. Still, I certainly enjoyed the experience and was impressed by some of the musical set pieces. I also appreciated the inventive, creative take on The Wizard of Oz lore, which makes the Wicked Witch of the West/Elphaba a more relatable… Continue reading WICKED: FOR GOOD Ties Up The Loose Ends, But Does Not Do Much Else
SENTIMENTAL VALUE Is A Heartfelt Story Of A Family Coming To Terms With The Past
From director Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World) comes a moving and powerful film that examines an estranged family reuniting for the first time in years and striving to make some semblance of peace despite past traumas. I first watched this trailer at the movies about two months ago, and I knew instantly… Continue reading SENTIMENTAL VALUE Is A Heartfelt Story Of A Family Coming To Terms With The Past
THE RUNNING MAN: Edgar Wright Offers A Take On Stephen King’s Story A Little Too Faithful To The Source Material
That headline might sound like I didn’t like the movie, but I actually did enjoy it. When I first heard that filmmaker Edgar Wright was developing a new film adaptation of Stephen King’s story, my ears perked up with excitement. I am a big fan of Wright’s filmmaking, and I went into this screening thinking… Continue reading THE RUNNING MAN: Edgar Wright Offers A Take On Stephen King’s Story A Little Too Faithful To The Source Material
PREDATOR: BADLANDS Is A Fun and Entertaining Buddy Movie
Director Dan Trachtenberg earned his place in the franchise with Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers. If you haven’t watched these films, I highly recommend them. I went into his latest installment, which thankfully is getting a theatrical release, and I was not disappointed. Trachtenberg, working with co-writer Patrick Aison, takes the Predator franchise into… Continue reading PREDATOR: BADLANDS Is A Fun and Entertaining Buddy Movie