Author: Mark Saldana

Whether one loves his voice, or just can’t stand it, most people can agree that singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen had a unique vocal style. Another thing about Cohen and career on which most people agree is that his song “Hallelujah” is absolutely haunting and beautiful, regardless of the singer who actually performs it. Now playing in… Continue reading HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG

After both Get Out and Us mostly impressed audiences and critics, filmaker Jordan Peele returns with an exciting comedy/science-fiction-thriller that delivers in a big way. Peele definitely has a love and the skills for dark thematic material, but given that he began his career as a comedian, he obviously knows how to give his audiences… Continue reading NOPE

Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that there would be an animated version of Blazing Saddles geared towards children. In its original form, when it was first released, Saddles was a groundbreaking movie for the genre of comedy. At a time when racism and the civil rights movement this prejudice inspired were not… Continue reading PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Where the Crawdads Sing tells a rather compelling story of a young child-turned-woman of very limited means, who manages to survive and thrive, despite the abusive environment that she endures. To be perfectly honest, I had never previously heard about the book, and thusly, have not… Continue reading WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

Now available on Prime Video is a bittersweet drama/comedy that addresses the fact that people often take their lives for granted. Written by Vera Herbert and directed by Hannah Marks, Don’t Make Me Go follows a single father who loves his teen daughter dearly, but has often taken the safest routes when it comes to… Continue reading DON’T MAKE ME GO

Thor: Love and Thunder marks the first time that the MCU offers its audiences a fourth, solo installment for one of its heroes. That is due to the fact that filmmaker Taika Waititi breathed much life and joy into the franchise’s Thor character with Thor: Ragnarok. Well, Taika doesn’t exactly disappoint with his latest take… Continue reading THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

Now available on VOD is a movie that has a novel premise, but definitely comes across as a knock-off of Get Out, without the smartly written and conceived social commentary. The movie has its moments, no doubt, but fails when it comes to delivering genuine frights. It also feels rather shallow and weak when it… Continue reading THE SUMMONED

Based on the short film of the same name by Dean Fleischer-Camp, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, is an absolute marvel and heartfelt examination of life in our world. Combining stop-motion animation and real-life backgrounds Fleischer-Camp and his crew tell the story of a sweet, optimistic, and irresitably lovable anthropomorphic seashell named Marcel, who… Continue reading MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

The Minions are back and are here to fill in a gap between their first prequel movie and the Despicable Me series that made them popular among some movie audiences. While I mostly enjoyed the first three Despicable Me films, and moderately liked the first Minions solo movie, I felt my usual sequel/prequel qualms going… Continue reading MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU