Category: Festivals

By Jan Hamilton Synopsis Source: SXSW Participants After being released from prison following a twenty year sentence for a minor offense, an ex-con must learn to navigate the modern world while coming to terms with his own life which has moved on – all while caring for the abandoned baby he finds in a dumpster.… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: ADOPT A HIGHWAY

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Every year, SXSW usually has a wonderful assortment of great comedies, and this year was no exception. From the UK, comes this delightful, hilarious and biting comedy that pulls no punches and beautifully wallows in absurdity. A group of delinquents decide to participate in a special… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: GET DUKED!

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Though generational divisions have always existed, they feel much more obvious and in public in today’s political climate. This SXSW treat of a comedy/horror flick lampoons both sides of the modern generational/political wall. Amanda Crew stars as Olive, a recently unemployed millennial who is lost and… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: TONE-DEAF

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) One of my favorite films at SXSW this year is this intimate glimpse into the life of a romatic relationship. Writer/director Tom Cullen tells the story of Jenna (Tatiana Massey) and Leon (Jay Duplass) through six different scenes, detailing six key moments in their relationship. From… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: PINK WALL

By Jan Hamilton Synopsis Source: SXSW Participants After discovering that her husband’s addiction to escorts has left their family penniless, Alice finds herself drawn into the world of high-end prostitution as a means of caring for herself and her child. Alice (Emilie Piponnier), her husband Francois ( Martin Swabey), and her son Jules are the… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: ALICE

By Jan Hamilton Synopsis Source: SXSW Participants The dark comedy “The Art of Self-Defense” stars Jesse Eisenberg and is set in the world of karate. Eisenberg plays a man who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE

By Jan Hamilton Synopsis Source: SXSW Participants Rose, a sweet, lonely driving instructor in rural Ireland, is gifted with supernatural abilities. Rose has a love/hate relationship with her ‘talents’ & tries to ignore the constant spirit related requests from locals – to exorcise possessed rubbish bins or haunted gravel. But Christian Winter, a washed up,… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: EXTRA ORDINARY

By Jan Hamilton Synopsis Source: SXSW Participants In a perfect town filled with perfect families, twelve-year-old Justin Whitter has gone missing. Greg Harper, lead investigator on the case, struggles to balance the pressures of the investigation which has brought to attention a similar case thought to be buried in the past, while finding a way… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: I SEE YOU

By Jan Hamilton Synopsis Source: SXSW Participants When Cynthia & Mary (Jillian Bell & Michaela Watkins) show up to collect Cynthia’s inheritance from her deceased grandfather, the only item she’s received is an antique sword that was believed by her grandfather to be proof that the South won the Civil War. The two attempt to… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: SWORD OF TRUST

By Mark Saldana Rating 4 (Out of 4 Stars) From Ecuador, comes this riveting and disturbingly visceral thriller that offers an insightful glimpse into the lives of sex workers and the victims of human trafficking in Latin America. Nöelle Schönwald stars as “Dana,” a seemingly high class escort/prostitute working for ruthless pimp, human trafficker, and… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: LA MALA NOCHE (THE LONGEST NIGHT)