Category: Festivals

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) I must say that this year’s festival was a pretty good year for diversity in cinema.  Director Jennifer Reeder’s Signature Move features a Muslim Pakistani-American, lesbian protagonist trying to pursue a romantic relationship with a Mexican-American girlfriend, but without revealing the complete truth to her uber-traditional… Continue reading SXSW 2017 REVIEW: SIGNATURE MOVE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Actress Stephanie Beatriz might be best known as for her intensity and comic chops on TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but the talented actress shows that she can handle the genuine drama and vulnerability that comes with portraying a victim of sexual assault in the outstanding film The… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) No one ever truly enjoys returning home to bury a parent.  This is especially true when doing so re-opens old painful wounds and releases some inner demons from the past. Written and directed by Laura E. Davis and Jessica Kaye, the bold and powerful film Inheritance… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: INHERITANCE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Since the 1960s, the name Madalyn Murray O’Hair became synonymous with atheism.  Her political activism made her famous, but her brash, sometimes abrasive personality made her infamous.  Writer/director Tommy O’Haver has made a biopic about the controversial Murray O’Hair that details some of her battles to… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: THE MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA

By Jan Hamilton Charlize Theron sizzles as Lorraine Broughton, a British secret agent sent to Berlin just before the fall of the Wall.  Her cover is that she is to bring home the body of another agent, with whom she seems to have had a relationship.  Because she is so emotionless, it’s hard to tell.… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: ATOMIC BLONDE

By Jan Hamilton Among the funniest films at SXSW this year, this one is a real charmer. The bad idea that two slackers have is to rob a stranger’s vacant house to make a big score. They have a pretty good way to get into a gated community, and easily find a key outside the… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: A BAD IDEA GONE WRONG

By Jan Hamilton Dependable Bill Pullman stars as Lefty Brown, former side-kick to three legends of the Old West, who have all gone on the better things.  Respect, fame and fortune have eluded Lefty, though he does not seem to mind.  Lefty works at the ranch of one of the trio, Edward Johnson (Peter Fonda)… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN

By Jan Hamilton In a pleasant exploration of Bill Nye’s story, this documentary follows his life as it leads to the world of science.  After getting a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell, and working at Boeing, Bill found work in TV as a writer and actor.  His best known work was on the educational… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: BILL NYE: SCIENCE GUY

By Jan Hamilton In this dark but hopeful drama, the leading lady is also the writer and director of the film.  Luciana (Ana Asensio) plays a struggling immigrant in New York who is trying to get past the death of her child in Spain.  Tall, beautiful and graceful, Luciana works a series of demanding, low… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND