Author: Mark Saldana

By Liz Lopez Rating: B – I remember viewing Director Fede Alvarez’s first feature at SXSW three years ago, the Evil Dead remake, and I certainly admired his skill with the genre film. Alvarez returned to SXSW Film Festival this past March with his new feature he directed and wrote with Rodo Sayagues, Don’t Breathe,… Continue reading Review: DON’T BREATHE

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ The film Hands of Stone written, directed and produced by Jonathan Jakubowicz (Secuestro express) is a biopic that has plenty of action and drama as it follows the life of Panamanian Roberto Duran from his childhood life of poverty, how he helped his family, and becomes a fighter who makes… Continue reading Review: HANDS OF STONE

By Liz Lopez Rating: B A young, attractive and tall lawyer, Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter), is shown in the opening scenes primping as she normally does for a daytime outing to a community event with a gentleman. She insists to her parents that this is “not a date” when she is accompanying a summer associate… Continue reading Review: SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU

Film slate also includes World Premiere of the newly restored cult classic THE ZODIAC KILLER and US Premiere screenings of THE HANDMAIDEN with Park Chan-Wook in attendance, THE BAD BATCH, TONI ERDMANN,  RAW and more!   Source: Fantastic Fest Austin, TX – Thursday, August 25, 2016 – Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest delivers another dose of cinematic decadence with its second… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2016: FANTASTIC FEST ANNOUNCES 2ND WAVE OF PROGRAMMING INCLUDING DENIS VILLENEUVE’S “ARRIVAL” AS OPENING NIGHT FILM

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) During the 1970s, Panamanian Roberto Duran rocked the boxing world with his “Manos de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”) and eventually won his way to the WBC Welterweight championship against Sugar Ray Leonard, with whom he formed an intense rivalry.  This bout and the infamous rematch that… Continue reading Review: HANDS OF STONE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Writer/director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead) has taken the premise of home invasion and given it his own inventive spin with his new film Don’t Breathe. Full of shocking and surprising twists,  Alvarez’s film is an exercise in intense thrills and taut suspense.  My strongest recommendation for… Continue reading Review: DON’T BREATHE

Source: Fantastic Fest Austin, TX – August 17, 2016 – Fantastic Fest is proud to announce the first wave of programing for the 2016 edition of Fantastic Market, the festival’s industry program which runs September 22-25, 2016. Fantastic Fest takes place September 22 – September 29, 2016 at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX. This… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2016 News: FANTASTIC FEST’S GENRE FILM MARKET ANNOUNCES NEW EXPANDED PROGRAM, SPECIAL GUESTS AND FILM PROJECTS FOR 2016

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the crazy true story, as told by writer Guy Lawson in the book Arms and the Dudes, War Dogs tells a slightly fictionalized version of the events involving two stoner/slackers and how they became arms dealers and scored a multi-million dollar government contract.  Adapted… Continue reading Review: WAR DOGS