By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Well, as we have witnessed and experienced during 2020 and 2021, we all know how the people of the world, our leaders, and America have responded to an international pandemic. Filmmaker Adam McKay applies this experience to a fictional scenario involving a comet headed to our… Continue reading DON’T LOOK UP
Author: Mark Saldana
SING 2
Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Much like the first installment of this animated, juke box musical franchise, Sing 2 is simply good, sacharine fun through and through. Both films do not have complex stories or plotting, but that’s okay. The Sing movies just want people to sing, tap their feet and maybe even dance… Continue reading SING 2
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) It would seem that, after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, there would be no way to relaunch this movie franchise. However, thanks to the creativitiy and visionary mind of Lana Wachowski, there is always a way to reboot a movie saga that both celebrates and… Continue reading THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
THE KING’S MAN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) After Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, director Matthew Vaughn decided to give his latest movie franchise a prequel, which tells the origins of this particular movie universe. I do not know what exactly Vaughn is drinking or consuming, but his ideas for… Continue reading THE KING’S MAN
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Immediately following the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Jon Watts’ latest addition to the MCU’s/Sony’s live-action Spiderverse challenges Peter Parker in new ways that will eventually threaten his moral code. I must admit that there was a part of me that feared that this movie, and all that… Continue reading SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) To preface this review, I must disclose that I have never once seen the 1947 film adaptation, nor have I ever read the book that inspired both that movie and this new adaptation by acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro. That said; I have watched and enjoyed… Continue reading NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE HAND OF GOD
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) From acclaimed Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, comes a film that very well feels like a very personal fictionalized depiction of the filmmaker’s life during his teen years. Much like Roma does for Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron and Belfast is to Irish filmmaker Kenneth Branagh, The Hand… Continue reading THE HAND OF GOD
RED ROCKET
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Both Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers, The Beach Bum) and Sean Baker love representing and depicting characters best described as social outcasts on the fringe. However their styles of storytelling certainly differ in that Korine tends to blend realism with cartoonish, over-the-top elements while Baker is much… Continue reading RED ROCKET
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
By Liz Lopez Rating: B- National Champions is directed by Ric Roman Waugh (Greenland, Angel Has Fallen) based on the screenplay by Adam Mervis (21 Bridges) and based on the synopsis provided, I anticipated viewing a very interesting story about a young man ready to inspire change in a college athletics system to benefit the… Continue reading NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
WEST SIDE STORY (2021)
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Steven Spielberg reimagines one of Hollywood’s and Broadway’s most beloved musicals and delivers another masterful film. I am sure there are plenty of people who absolutely adore either the 1961 version of West Side Story or experienced a stage production of the musical that is near… Continue reading WEST SIDE STORY (2021)