Author: Mark Saldana

By Jan Hamilton Small Crimes, not to be confused with Small Town Crime, which also played at this year’s SXSW, is an enjoyable film with some great performances. We follow Joe Denton (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) a crooked cop just out of jail who viciously attacked and disfigured a district attorney while he (Joe) was in a drug soaked… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: SMALL CRIMES

By Jan Hamilton Beck (Renée Felice Smith, from the CBS show NCIS: Los Angeles) directed, wrote and stars in this frothy flick.  She and Liam (Matt Bush) meet and decide to take a trip to the desert.  They are going as friends and assure each other they don’t want a relationship. The two charming leads… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: THE RELATIONTRIP

By Jan Hamiton This film is a blood soaked thriller with a lot of comic moments.  Cast against type, Chip (Mathew Gray Gubler, the young egg-head doctor on TV’s Criminal Minds) is a slightly naïve young man who empties septic tanks during the day, and tries to keep up with his super-hot girlfriend Liza (Annalynne… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: 68 KILL

By Jan Hamilton This film and Small Crimes, also shown at this year’s festival, are both about disgraced former cops, but that’s where the similarity ends.  Our lead, Mike Kendall (John Hawkes) is a black-out drunk, nevertheless, he still tries to re-build his life, alternating visits to AA with nights at the bars with his buddy (Anthony… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: SMALL TOWN CRIME

By Jan Hamilton The characters’ stories intersect a bit in this good natured film that involves fraud, murder (or suicide), romance, the fourth estate, and on-line porn.  We follow novice reporter Claire (Abbi Jacobson) and her slightly lecherous young mentor, Phil (Michael Cera) on her first day on the job.  She wants to have some… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: PERSON TO PERSON

By Jan Hamilton Ruth is a young pregnant woman shattered by the accidental death of her boyfriend some six months earlier.  She hears voices, and the voices are telling her to kill people.  At first the victims are just random people who treat her badly, like the jerk she meets in a bar, and the… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: PREVENGE

By Jan Hamilton Beautifully filmed landscapes are the setting of our eerie road trip movie, as a young man and his teenage brother set off on a short vacation to hunt deer and camp. At least, that’s what they tell people they are doing, the reality is, at first, only hinted at. We are shown… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: THE STRANGE ONES