Author: Mark Saldana

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Even though Disney/Pixar could have ended a successful franchise with a trilogy, they opted to make it a quadrilogy, and the results aren’t actually bad. The latest installment in the Toy Story saga shows a tremendous amount of love for its characters and stories; though I… Continue reading Review: TOY STORY 4

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) At this point in my work in film criticism, I have to just shug and go with the flow when I hear about a new remake. I mean; honestly, what can I do? When Disney, the world’s biggest studio is producing mostly remakes and others are… Continue reading Review: CHILD’S PLAY (2019)

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) In East Jerusalem, teenager Benni (Avigail Kovari) and her most devout father Yehoshua (Gal Toren) cling to their faith and traditions while dealing with political strife and still coping with the tragic death of Benni’s mother and Yehoshua’s wife. Things become rather complicated and challenging when… Continue reading Israeli Film Center Festival 2019 Review: RED COW

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) This particular film from Ethiopian-Israeli director Aalam-Warqe Davidian tells a very desperate story of Jews in Ethiopia trying to escape persecution and civil war. The protagonist Mina (Betalehem Asmamawe), a 16 year-old young lady, and her family are attempting to illegally emigrate to Israel. Meanwhile, Mina’s… Continue reading Israeli Film Center Festival 2019 Review: FIG TREE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Smartly written zombie movies often have socially relevant messages to offer through their violence and gore. This can be genuinely said about filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s foray into the genre. With The Dead Don’t Die, Jarmusch takes on the environmental sins of humanity, though he does so… Continue reading Review: THE DEAD DON’T DIE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Though this movie has two great lead actresses (Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling), I wasn’t exactly excited about reviewing this comedy about a nighttime talk show. I don’t know; maybe because I no longer have any genuine interest in modern late night talk shows, I felt that… Continue reading Review: LATE NIGHT

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The seventh annual Israel Film Center Festival took place between June 3 and 12 this year at The Marlene Meyerson Jewish Community Center, Manhattan where a diverse assortment of Jewish voices from multiple countries showcased their films. I was given the awesome opportunity to review a… Continue reading Israeli Film Center Festival 2019 Review: REDEMPTION (GEULA)

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The Shaft saga continues with a movie that attempts to be more politically correct and less misogynistic than any other previous entry in the series. However, this approach, paired with a more comedic tone, will probably grate with die hard fans of the original Blaxploitaion movies… Continue reading Review: SHAFT (2019)

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Considering that I liked (not loved) the first installment of this animated franchise, I actually approached this film with hopeful anticipation. My biggest gripe with the first movie is that it is basically a rip off of Toy Story, but applied to dogs, cats and other… Continue reading Review: THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2