Author: Mark Saldana

Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: IRON FISTS AND KUNG FU KICKS

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Australian director Serge Ou’s comprehensive documentary tells the vast history martial arts cinema and does so with great style and aplomb. It is a rather daunting task to pull this off, as the filmography of martial arts movies is quite extensive. Still, Ou manages to condense… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: IRON FISTS AND KUNG FU KICKS

Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: KNIVES AND SKIN

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Though not a true musical, Jennifer Reeder’s Knives and Skin uses music and song in some inventive and powerful ways. This film, which tackles the scary years of high school, focuses on a group of teenage girls struggling with identity amidst the aftermath a classmate’s disappearance.… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: KNIVES AND SKIN

Critica De Cine: JOKER

By Liz Lopez Rating: A Joaquin Phoenix (“Walk the Line”, “Gladiator”) es excelente en sus muchas interpretaciones de personajes con rasgos de personalidad descritos como “obsesivos” y “paranoicos”, entre otros y ahora en “Joker”, interpreta a Arthur Fleck, quien tiene una enfermedad mental grave y quiere ser un comediante de pie. Todd Phillips (“War Dogs”,… Continue reading Critica De Cine: JOKER

Review: JOKER

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The award for the “Feel Bad Movie of the Year” goes to Joker. Writer/director Todd Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver have taken the iconic DC Comics villain and have given him his most fully realized cinematic treatment ever. The downside of this (for some audiences) is… Continue reading Review: JOKER

Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: PELICAN BLOOD

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) A mother’s true love usually knows no bounds and said mothers will do whatever it takes to defend their children, even if this desperation drives them to take seemingly irrational measures. Those are the central themes of this powerful and emotionally charged film which played the… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: PELICAN BLOOD

Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: FIRST LOVE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Japanese filmmaker extraordinaire Takashi Mikke brought his latest movie to Fantastic Fest this year and the it’s definitely a fun, crazy and violent affair. Mikke’s latest piece presents a true romance amidst criminal power plays, serendipitous circumstances, and filters it through a slightly heightened reality where… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: FIRST LOVE

Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Actor Mark Patton will forever be remembered as the male “scream queen” of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. Even though he has been honored and celebrated in recent years as a trailblazer in horror cinema, his journey to this status has been a… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: THE DEATH OF DICK LONG

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Writer Billy Chew and director Daniel Scheinert take a relatively simple, but disturbing true story and spin it into a suspenseful and intguing yarn that is certain to shock and awe. Normally, I would reveal the true events that inspired this feature film, but to do… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: THE DEATH OF DICK LONG

Review: JUDY

By Liz Lopez Rating: A Many people of a certain age may remember watching “The Wizard of Oz” and the female lead, Judy Garland. The new film, “Judy,” starring Renee Zellweger is not set during the time of “The Wizard of Oz,” but the audience certainly will see some scenes of her youth and what… Continue reading Review: JUDY