Author: Mark Saldana

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Always an evocateur, Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven takes on Catholicism in a film that empowers women and challenges its audience to think critically about the conventions that often prevent Christian religions from remaining relevant to the people they are supposed to serve. Verhoeven, who utilizes exploitation… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2021 Review: BENEDETTA

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Life, as seen through the perspectives of adults and children, are usually very different things. While grownups are more knowledgeable and often jaded by what the world has to offer, the youth sometimes have more hopeful and promising outlooks on their future. This new film by… Continue reading C’MON C’MON

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Lin-Manuel Miranda has worked with Disney previously in multiple ways. He has previously contributed songs, and has made different appearances in some of their movies, and his latest contribution to “The House of the Mouse” once again proves to be a great success. In Encanto, Miranda… Continue reading ENCANTO

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Directed by Ridley Scott, House of Gucci is a very entertaining (albeit very long) story about the Gucci empire and the family drama full of greed, backstabbing – oh and I cannot forget to mention murder. Scott works from a script by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna, based on Sara… Continue reading HOUSE OF GUCCI

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Jason Reitman has obviously chosen a career that follows in his father’s footsteps in cinema. This has never been more apparent until he chose to make a sequel to his father’s (Ivan Reitman) iconic Ghostbusters movies. Though not as overtly comedic as his Ivan Reitman’s first… Continue reading GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE

By Mark Saldanay Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Now playing in some theaters, as well as available for streaming via Netflix is a wonderful musical that tells the story about the humble beginnings of the acclaimed late playwright Jonathan Larson. Larson, who is best known for his successful musical play Rent, struggled as a… Continue reading TICK, TICK…BOOM!

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) When filmmakers choose to tell their personal stories from childhood, this often makes for compelling cinema. Such is the case with Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast. Branagh, who was born and partially raised in Ireland, eventually moved to England with his family as a child, due to the… Continue reading BELFAST

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) I recently watched two similarly themed movies recently; both of which deal with unhappy women in crisis. The first one, which I also recently reviewed, is an Israeli film titled Woman Alive, a powerful and haunting movie that depicts a Jewish woman who feels trapped in… Continue reading SPENCER

By Mark Saldana Rating 3 (Out of 4 Stars) When it comes to promoting their films during awards season, Netflix has to be the master of the “hard sell.” The film production and streaming service seriously goes “HAM” with special screenings, physical screeners, coffee table books and other promotional items during the “for your consideration”… Continue reading THE HARDER THEY FALL