Austin Film Festival 2026 From writer/director Jordan Firstman, who makes his feature debut, comes an emotionally charged and heartwarming movie about a gay party promoter, caught up in the more hazardous aspects of his career–sex, drugs, and hard-partying. Firstman stars as Peter, a man lost in the party monster he’s become, to the point that… Continue reading CLUB KID: A Heartwarming Story About A Father And His Son
Author: Mark Saldana
I PLAY ROCKY: A Feel-Good Underdog Story
Austin Film Festival 2026 Most cinephiles know the story of Rocky, the lovable underdog club boxer from Philadelphia who gets a shot at the heavyweight title and nearly wins it. However, not everyone knows how Sylvester Stallone poured his heart and soul into the screenplay and struggled to get the film made. The story behind… Continue reading I PLAY ROCKY: A Feel-Good Underdog Story
VICTORIAN PSYCHO: An Entertaining Subversion of Period Dramas
Fantastic Fest 2026 At this year’s Fantastic Fest, I had the absolute treat of screening a wickedly entertaining period horror feature titled Victorian Psycho. I occasionally love watching a good British period drama, but I especially love when filmmakers put a horror spin on the subgenre (e.g., Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). Director Zachary Wigon… Continue reading VICTORIAN PSYCHO: An Entertaining Subversion of Period Dramas
How To Rob A Bank: A Fun Punk Rock Fantasy
From David Leitch, co-director of John Wick and director of Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2, comes a relevant, rebellious movie about bank robbers who aim to dismantle the American Banking System. Overall, the movie is a fun fantasy that stretches realism, but it’s still an entertaining romp and crime drama. Lead actor Nicholas Hoult gives… Continue reading How To Rob A Bank: A Fun Punk Rock Fantasy
EBENEZER: An Unnecessary, But Solid Adaptation of A Christmas Carol
Director Ti West, a filmmaker known for his horror features such as The Innkeepers, X, Pearl, and Maxxine, has been tasked with adapting Charles Dickens’s story, A Christmas Carol. As usual, the question is: do we need yet another adaptation of this story? The answer is no, not at all. Yet, here we are with… Continue reading EBENEZER: An Unnecessary, But Solid Adaptation of A Christmas Carol
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
LA BOLA NEGRA: A Powerful and Exquisite Art House Epic
In 1928, Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director Federico García Lorca made a name for himself with Romancero gitano and went on to produce a respected, acclaimed body of work over the next eight years. Sadly, he became a casualty of the Spanish Civil War, as it is suspected that the Nationalist Militia assassinated him.… Continue reading LA BOLA NEGRA: A Powerful and Exquisite Art House Epic
Short Film Review: THE PROJECTIONIST
Back in August, I received an invitation to a private screening of a short film written and directed by an up-and-coming Austin filmmaker named (appropriately) Austin Noll. He reached out by email and offered a brief synopsis of his short that instantly intrigued me. As a film critic and cinephile, I love experiencing stories that… Continue reading Short Film Review: THE PROJECTIONIST
WILDWOOD: An Outstanding Dark Fantasy Film
Director Travis Knight (ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings) and screenwriter Chris Butler bring Colin Meloy and Chris Ellis’ fantasy novel Wildwood to life. Though I have never read the source material, the movie makes it clear that it establishes an exciting world filled with vibrant characters, genuine stakes, and an intense, dark, compelling story.… Continue reading WILDWOOD: An Outstanding Dark Fantasy Film
CLAYFACE: A Batman Villain Re-envisioned as Body Horror
James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe continues with an origin story for a popular Batman villain that is genuinely a horror story. With a story and script by Mike Flanagan (Hush, Doctor Sleep), the movie re-envisions Clayface as a body-horror tragedy. Flannagan co-wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini, and James Watkins directs. The result… Continue reading CLAYFACE: A Batman Villain Re-envisioned as Body Horror