Author: Mark Saldana

The first Zootopia is a movie full of extraordinary imagination, beautiful animation, exceptional humor, and rich characters. It is one of those first installments that would be hard to follow; therefore, my expectations for this sequel were definitely tempered. Armed with that attitude, I was mostly pleased that the new film still keeps the jokes… Continue reading ZOOPTOPIA 2: A Fun Sequel That Is Not Quite As Good As The First One

Now available to stream on Netflix, In Your Dreams is an animated feature film that follows a small family as its parents face marital woes. Twelve-year-old Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) loves her family dearly, even though she constantly butts heads with her chaotic little brother Eliot (Elias Janssen). Her father (Simu Liu) struggles to maintain a… Continue reading IN YOUR DREAMS: An Imaginative and Heartfelt Family Movie

The first cinematic adaptation of the popular Broadway musical Wicked didn’t wholly blow me away. Still, I certainly enjoyed the experience and was impressed by some of the musical set pieces. I also appreciated the inventive, creative take on The Wizard of Oz lore, which makes the Wicked Witch of the West/Elphaba a more relatable… Continue reading WICKED: FOR GOOD Ties Up The Loose Ends, But Does Not Do Much Else

From director Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World) comes a moving and powerful film that examines an estranged family reuniting for the first time in years and striving to make some semblance of peace despite past traumas. I first watched this trailer at the movies about two months ago, and I knew instantly… Continue reading SENTIMENTAL VALUE Is A Heartfelt Story Of A Family Coming To Terms With The Past

That headline might sound like I didn’t like the movie, but I actually did enjoy it. When I first heard that filmmaker Edgar Wright was developing a new film adaptation of Stephen King’s story, my ears perked up with excitement. I am a big fan of Wright’s filmmaking, and I went into this screening thinking… Continue reading THE RUNNING MAN: Edgar Wright Offers A Take On Stephen King’s Story A Little Too Faithful To The Source Material

Director Dan Trachtenberg earned his place in the franchise with Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers. If you haven’t watched these films, I highly recommend them. I went into his latest installment, which thankfully is getting a theatrical release, and I was not disappointed. Trachtenberg, working with co-writer Patrick Aison, takes the Predator franchise into… Continue reading PREDATOR: BADLANDS Is A Fun and Entertaining Buddy Movie

From director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) comes a film that gives its audiences an intimate look at the meltdown of a new mother as she unravels due to post-partum depression. I can definitely appreciate a movie that explores the psychology of women navigating both the demands of motherhood and the hormonal… Continue reading DIE MY LOVE: An Exploration Of Post-Partum Depression Taken To The Extreme

From 1958 to the 1960s, a film movement in France, known as the Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave), had a significant impact on the world of cinema, forever influencing arthouse and independent film. One particular filmmaker who was greatly affected by the movies of this movement is Richard Linklater. Some of the filmmaker’s dialogue-driven, “hang-out”… Continue reading NOUVELLE VAGUE: Richard Linklater Recreates The 1959 French New Wave Scene