By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The controversy surrounding this movie does raise questions about both the ethical treatment of animals on movie sets and the sensationalism that often comes with scandalous stories broken by notorious tabloid journalism. However, I am not here to address either issue within the controversy. Though I… Continue reading Review: A DOG’S PURPOSE
Author: Mark Saldana
Review: GOLD
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The best thing about this latest, “Based on Actual Events,” movie is the earnest and passionate performance Matthew McConaughey gives in it. The worst thing, however, is the somewhat lackluster way that director Stephen Gaghan presents the story. Thankfully, Gold isn’t another Scorsese clone like American Hustle,… Continue reading Review: GOLD
Review: PATERSON
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Jim Jarmusch’s latest film tells the story of a humble artist who creates his work on his own terms, and seems to relish his struggle to create it regularly. I cannot think of another filmmaker more appropriate for telling this story than Jarmusch, an artist known… Continue reading Review: PATERSON
Movie News: The 89TH ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINEES
By Mark Saldana Source: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Photo: Courtesy of Oscars.org On the morning of Tuesday, January 24, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominees for their 89th Annual Academy Awards which honor achievements in filmmaking for the past year. Damien Chazelle’s acclaimed musical La La… Continue reading Movie News: The 89TH ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINEES
Spanish Review: SPLIT
Por Liz López Rating A Aunque fuí participante en el festival de cine Fantastic Fest el septiembre pasado, no me tocó recibir uno de los “boletos especiales” para la proyección en secreto de “Split”, el nuevo largometraje del cineasta renombrado, M. Night Shyamalan. Por lo mismo, mi anticipación de ver la película a tiempo de… Continue reading Spanish Review: SPLIT
Review: SPLIT
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) After a bit of a dry spell of uncompelling work, M. Night Shyamalan made a bit of a comeback with his horror-thriller The Visit in 2015, a film that kept the production simple and the story elemental, intriguing, and ultimately frightening. Shymalan is back with another… Continue reading Review: SPLIT
Review: XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) As I left the theater following this screening, I had come to the conclusion that this film is ridiculous, dumb, over-the-top, and features some of the worst writing I had seen in a while. At the same time, I also realized that I had an absolute… Continue reading Review: XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE
Review: 20TH CENTURY WOMEN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) As Mike Mills’s life experiences inspired his second film Beginners, such is the case with 20th Century Women, a movie which nearly serves as a spiritual predecessor to the director’s sophomore feature. Mills’s films certainly reflect a fascinating, not-so-traditional life that I’m sure caused him more confusion and… Continue reading Review: 20TH CENTURY WOMEN
An Overview: LIVE BY NIGHT
By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Ben Affleck has had an extensive list of acting credits since the 1980s, and the films he has directed and/or written have found success, including “Good Will Hunting” (an Oscar in 1998), “The Town” (an AFI for best movie in 2011), and then the film “Argo” went on to win… Continue reading An Overview: LIVE BY NIGHT
Spanish Review: LIVE BY NIGHT
By Liz López Rating: B+ Ben Affleck tiene una extensiva lista de créditos de actuación desde la década 1980 cuando era un joven. Los largometrajes en el cual él ha escrito el guion y/o es el director han encontrado un nivel de éxito, desde “Good Will Hunting” (en 1998 con un premio Oscar), “The Town”… Continue reading Spanish Review: LIVE BY NIGHT